Fushigi Yuugi: Daydream's Embrace
by Nyan Nyan and Mrs.Tasuki
Summary: UNFINISHED What if The Universe of the Four Gods was translated into English? What if it was opened by someone who knew the legend? What if the story was retold? nonyaoi CH 28: The fateful day has arrived! Can Suzaku be summoned successfully?
1. Prologue

  
  
**ATTENTION: RE-EDITED CHAPTERS!!!**  
  
**Even if you've read the prologue before, read it again! It's new! It's improved! It has paragraphs that are made up of more than two sentences!**  
  
Authors' Note: Finally! Not only is the fanfic up, but we re-edited the prologue! We've definitely improved our writing, and now that we look back at our first few chapters, we laugh at how bad they are written. There's so much potential that we didn't use back in the day, so we're fixing it. When we finish our first half of the fic, we're going to go back and edit the first few chapters, so it's all better!  
  
We'd also like to point out that this chapter is plot-wise...pointless. We just wanted everyone to get to know the new characters a little bit before reading the actual story. It's called 'Prologue' for a reason!

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**Fushigi Yuugi: Daydream's Embrace  
Prologue**  
  
_What if 'The Universe of the Four Gods' was translated into English?  
What if it was opened by someone who knew the legend?  
What if the story was retold?_  
  
Two teenage girls sat in the center of a living room in a house in the suburbs of Ohio, watching Fushigi Yuugi, guzzling Dr Pepper and whipped cream straight from the cans, and, generally, having a great time. It was a normal spring day, the kind where friends hang out together, doing nothing in particular. It was the kind of day that made school children long for summer vacation to begin. Katherine and Christina, who were in their freshman year, were no different. They wished for the dull droning of teachers to end, and for a summer of lounging about to begin.  
  
Katherine, whose living room they inhabited at the moment, was lazily sprawled out on the blue couch. She was lean built, and just below regular height at 5'2". Her hazel eyes shined happily as she looked at the television screen that emitted the room's only light, her slightly wavy brunette hair, highlighted with gold, falling down to her shoulders.  
  
"A kiss on the hand may be quite continental, but diamonds are a girl's best friend. A kiss may be grand but it won't pay the rental on your humble flat, or help you feed your pussycat," Christina trilled from the big, plaid armchair she was perched upon, voicing her usual tendency to burst into song. There was always a song playing in her head, and she had no guilt getting a tune stuck in someone else's mind as well.  
  
"I don't like that song," Katherine interjected thoughtfully before tilting her head back and dramatically spraying whipped cream into her mouth.  
  
"Why?" asked Christina, turning her gaze across the room to her friend, who, like the rest of the room and the furniture in it, was bathed in the flickering light of the screen.  
  
"The tune is fine, but the lyrics..." Katherine trailed off, trying to think of the best way to voice her thoughts. Her friend continued to stare at her, eyebrows raised in question, as though daring Katherine to finish the sentence. Katherine thought for a moment, trying to figure out the best way to say what she thought without insulting her friend.  
  
"It's just like saying that girls are materialistic."  
  
"But it also says that men are chauvinistic bastards," Christina pointed out mischievously, her green eyes sparkling out from her face, which was lightly sprinkled with freckles over her nose and cheeks. She leaned back into the chair, where her auburn hair, streaked with red and gold, flowed down her shoulders and back. Christina was slender and willowy, and barely towered above Katherine at an average height of 5'4".  
  
"Is the Priestess of Suzaku really Miaka? Why is she so popular?" a muffled Japanese voice that belonged to Keisuke interjected from across the room, on the television screen. He was sitting in the Important Documents Reference Room of Japan's national library, reading the Universe of the Four Gods.  
  
"It's not very good when your own brother doesn't think very highly of you," Christina commented while pointing towards the screen.  
  
"But this is Miaka we're talking about," Katherine laughed, turning her attention back to the TV after a moment of humor.  
  
On the display, Hotohori suddenly burst through a door. "Be careful, both of you!" he yelled, his sonorous voice slightly fuzzy from the speakers' high volume. "I sense an evil presence!"  
  
Miaka looked around the room in bewilderment, to be answered by a man on the ceiling stating, "I am a messenger from the land of Kutou."  
  
"Dude, that guys a pervert! He was like watching Miaka and Tamahome's peep show!" Christina shouted in reference to the intense hugging Miaka and Tamahome were involved in on the bed. Both Katherine and Christina burst out laughing at the thought.  
  
The Kutou agent continued, "We have already advanced on several villages in Konan. This is common knowledge."  
  
"Then why is he saying it?" Christina questioned sarcastically.  
  
"And why doesn't Tamahome know?" Katherine continued, remembering that Tamahome asked but a few seconds later if what the agent said was true. Christina started to crack up as Tamahome asked the question that Katherine had predicted her would and fell out of the blue chair and onto the beige carpeting in her hysterics. Katherine clutched to the couch desperately, hoping not to end up on the floor like her best friend from laughter.  
  
Miaka then proceeded to question or repeat everything the agent on the ceiling said. "Is she deaf?" Katherine said mockingly. One of her major pet peeves was repetition, and, unfortunately, in Shoujo Anime, repetition happened quite a lot.  
  
"Welcome to the Department of Redundancy Department," Christina continued, causing both of the girls to break into hysterics yet again.  
  
In the next scene, Tamahome was sitting in a chair next to Miaka's sleeping form, which wasn't very peaceful. On the contrary, she snored. Tamahome began to stand up to leave for Kutou. "Eeeeeee...." Miaka warned as she grabbed Tamahome's arm, subconsciously making sure he didn't leave.  
  
"Is she constipated?" Katherine wondered as the two friends laughed even harder.  
  
On the screen, Hotohori walked down the hallway of the Konan palace, flanked by advisors that were waiting upon his every whim. He was halted when Miaka stopped in front of him, thrusting the note Tamahome had written to her into the emperor's hands.  
  
"I HATE his Chinese takeout box hat!" Katherine announced, referring to his royal crown, which, in fact, bore a strange resemblance to a takeout box, including the chopstick-looking gold decoration that impaled the 'box'.  
  
"There has to be some mistake!" Miaka yelled, "Hotohori, read it right this time!"  
  
"Oh yeah," Katherine said sardonically at Miaka's demand, "The emperor really needs Hooked on Phonics!"  
  
"1-800-ABC-DEFG!" Christina added arbitrarily. When Katherine and Christina spent time together, they usually seemed to end up laughing so hard that it hurt; it was quite dangerous.  
  
Then, the scene changed, and Hotohori was sitting at his desk, wishing Miaka a safe journey to search for the remaining warriors of Suzaku. "No..." he said, "It's nothing, just be careful."  
  
"Awww... poor Hotohori, I LOVE YOU!" Katherine yelled at the screen. She paused the picture and stared at Hotohori in awe of his beauty. After a few moments of watching Katherine's slack expression, Christina grabbed the remote and pressed play, forcing her friend out of her stupor. And a few minutes later, Chichiri appeared on top of Hotohori's desk.  
  
"Chi... Chichiri?" Hotohori asked, surprised that the monk had appeared out of thin air.  
  
"So now he needs speech classes for a stuttering problem too!?" Christina asked, laughing maniacally and finding it all to be hilarious.  
  
"Hey!" Katherine yelled defensively. "I'd be surprised too if a mass of bright blue hair popped up in my face!"  
  
Christina ignored her friend, continuing to watch the show until the screen suddenly panned down to a view of Hotohori's royal shoes. "DUCKY SHOES!" Christina yelled. As an emperor, Katherine and Christina had found Hotohori had a strange wardrobe. The girls, affected by the large amount of sugar they had been inhaling in the past twenty minutes, jumped up and down around the room, chanting, "DUCKY SHOES, DUCKY SHOES!"

oOo  
  
It was another scene, and Chichiri had cast a spell so that he could take Hotohori's place on the throne while the sei protected Miaka. He had changed into an exact copy of Hotohori, and Katherine was ecstatic. "Yay! Two of them! Let's count the Hotohoris! One, two! One, two! What could be better than two Hotohoris? Unless it's three Hotohoris! Or four Hotohoris! Or a bazillion Hotohoris!"  
  
Christina hit herself over the head with a notebook in a vain attempt to numb the pain of Katherine's crazed fangirl side, which usually emerged at any mention of Hotohori. Sometimes it was just too much for Christina to take, and this was one of those instances.  
  
"I'm much more beautiful than that!" Hotohori criticized.  
  
"I LOVE his narcissism!" Katherine yelled, completely ignoring her friend's state of borderline insanity.  
  
A few minutes later, one of the bandits who had come to attack Miaka and Nuriko in a restaurant yelled "Gimme that money!" as he attempted to decapitate Miaka's head.  
  
"If you want money," Christina pointed out, "You don't slice her head off, you take the bag!" She loved knowing that she was a better bandit than 'real' bandits.  
  
Hotohori soon stabbed the bandit, appearing in a flash of steel and blood. "What an entrance!" Katherine gushed, holding her head in her hands and staring at the screen dreamily.  
  
Christina had seated herself a mere two inches away from the television, her eyes glued to the screen, her nose almost touching the glass. She screamed with joy as a black boot appeared on the television, and then again when a strong gust of wind swept Miaka away. Christina swooned as she saw Tasuki and his trademark smirk on the screen.  
  
"Ge- Genrou!" Christina said happily along with Kouji.  
  
"It's been a while, Eiken," Christina recited in sync with Tasuki in perfect Japanese that could only be learned with an obsessive amount of watching that very scene, which, in fact, she had. "So after I come back from my trip, I see you've taken over huh? Must be nice for you to have a bride now, considering how damned ugly your face is!"  
  
It was now Katherine's turn to bash her head with the notebook, using her own friend's method, and praying it would work and somehow knock her unconscious. "Genjitsu Shintaro!" Christina shouted, still grinning madly.  
  
To be continued...

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DISCLAIMER: Fushigi Yuugi and related characters, copyrights, and trademarks are the property of Watase Yuu, as well as Flower Comics, Shogakukan Productions, Tokyo Television, Bandai, Movic, Studio Peirott and other releasing companies. They are used here for entertainment and without permission. The characters Katherine, Christina, Joan, and Diana are copyrighted characters and trademarks that belong to Mrs. Tasuki and Nyan Nyan, Mrs. Tasuki Productions, Nyan Nyan Enterprises, and The Mrs. Tasuki and Nyan Nyan Corporation. This fanfic is also copyrighted by Mrs. Tasuki and Nyan Nyan.  
  
**FUSHIGI AKUGI**  
  
This first Fushigi Akugi was inspired by an unfortunate misspelling by Mrs.Tasuki. When she first caught it, the only mistake was an 'o' switched with a 'p'.  
  
"Awww. poor Hotohori, I LOVE YOU!" Katherine yelled at the screen. A few minutes later, Chichiri pooped on Hotohori's desk.  
  
"Chi...Chichiri?" Hotohori asked as he looked at the monk inquisitively, "Why did you take a dump on my desk?"


	2. Episode 1: The Girl from the Legend

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Remember everyone:

oOo = A scene/character view change

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**Episode 1  
The Girl from the Legend  
By: Nyan Nyan and Mrs. Tasuki**

"Hotohori!" Katherine shouted loudly, stretching out her arms and straining her fingers to reach him. She was surrounded by a blinding white light, causing her to squint as she made out his quickly-disappearing figure.  
  
"I'm waiting. Please find me soon, Priestess of Suzaku," Hotohori whispered as he began to fade away into the light.  
  
Katherine began to run towards the sei, screaming, "No! Come back!" The white floors beneath her began to crumble and break under Katherine's very feet. Screaming, she grabbed at the air as the floor fell away, plunging her into the darkness below.  
  
Katherine woke up in a cold sweat, her sheets twisted around her legs. She lazily turned on her side to see the picture of Hotohori on her wall that her friend, Christina, had drawn for her. She always told people that she was obsessed with Fushigi Yuugi, but now she thought that having a dream about it was just crossing the line.  
  
"Maybe I should stop watching it as much," she mumbled as she looked at her digital clock. 8:37, it proclaimed in big, fat red numbers. "Wow," marveled the girl, "I never wake up this early on a Saturday." She continued to mutter garbled banter to herself as she sat up in her bed. She was now half- awake, and there was no hope for her ever falling back asleep, so she decided to go down and have some breakfast.  
  
Katherine plodded down the stairs, still in a daze from her dream. As she turned down the hallway she saw her older sister, Joan, sitting on the blue couch, reading the comics. "Wow, I never saw you up so early on a Saturday!" Joan exclaimed as she looked up to see who was walking into the kitchen.  
  
"Yeah. A dream woke me up..." Katherine sleepily replied as she continued to try to figure out her dream.  
  
"What was it about?" Joan asked curiously, thinking it must have been one hell of a nightmare to wake her sister up.  
  
"It was about..." Katherine began, not sure whether to reply in case her sister would taunt her. Katherine was not in the mood to be made fun of, especially that early in the morning. She finally decided that she really didn't care, and that her sister would probably just pester her if she didn't say, so Katherine muttered, "Hotohori."  
  
"What? And that woke you up?! I thought if you ever had a dream about him you would be sleeping till noon," Joan exclaimed, completely shocked.  
  
"I know...me too. But this wasn't as pleasant as I thought it would be," she said as she looked through pantry for the bagels.  
  
"Oh..." Joan trailed off, and, with that, dropped the subject, not knowing how to reply.  
  
"Where's Mom?" Katherine asked, knowing that her mother woke up at six every single day, which was, in Katherine's opinion, not healthy.  
  
"She's upstairs working. And she's going to be on the Internet all day long since she's working from home today," Joan answered as she continued reading the comics.  
  
"Darn it! I need to start researching for a project!" Katherine exclaimed as she stomped her right foot on the kitchen floor. One thing Katherine learned about going to a college preparatory school was to never wait till the last day to start a project.  
  
"I could drive you to the library. I need to go and do some errands anyway," Joan said, still concentrating on the comics.  
  
"Really?! Thanks!!" Katherine exclaimed excitedly.  
  
"But I'm going to be leaving in forty-five minutes, so if you're not ready by then you're out of luck," her sister warned, knowing that Katherine had a tendency to be late.  
  
Katherine looked down and realized that she was still in her pajamas. "See ya!" she shouted as she ran up the stairs and jumped into the shower.  
  
"READY!!" Katherine shouted loudly, fifty minutes later.  
  
"And five minutes late... as usual," Joan said mockingly as she put on her coat, about to walk out the door. 

oOo  
  
"I'm going to come back and pick you up in about three hours," Joan said as she stopped the car in front of the library and let Katherine out.  
  
"Ok... I've never spent that long in a library before," Katherine mumbled as she walked towards the doors. "At least I'll have plenty of time to see how they've changed it after their year-long renovation."  
  
Katherine walked in amazed. It was as if she never seen a library before. Even though the shape and size of the building didn't change, the interior sure did. It seemed twice as large as it did a year ago, so Katherine decided to take a tour before getting to work. She walked around the whole library, her eyes capturing every change in the building. She passed by a door and walked on, then ran back for a double-take to re-read the sign. "The Important Documents Reference Room" was clearly printed on the door.  
  
"Okay. What Fushigi Yuugi fan would not go into this room?" she thought to while she slowly opened the door. She felt as if she was doing something wrong, as if she would be in big trouble if a librarian happened to catch her, but she let her curiosity get the best of her as continued to open the door. She laughed to herself, thinking that she would bring Christina and a camera the next time she came, to take some funny pictures.  
  
She looked suspiciously around the room. Unlike the rest of the library, which was new, bright, and shiny, the room was dark and gloomy, with only tall bookshelves filling the space. She walked down one of the rows, trailing her fingertips over the spines of the books and wiping dust off of the ancient novels as she admired the ancient books. She was about to look down the next aisle of books when a sudden noise made her jump. She turned around, sure that someone had just entered the room and that she was about to get kicked out of the library.  
  
But no one was there. Katherine looked around, trying to figure out what had made the strange noise, when she noticed a book on the floor. It had a tattered old cover that looked like it had once been red, but was now a brownish color. She looked around before kneeling down to pick it up, wondering if she was on a hidden camera show of some sort.  
  
She cautiously opened the book, afraid that if she was too rough it would crumble to dust in her hands. She turned to the first page to see a bright, red light glowing in her eyes. In a flash of blinding light, Katherine was gone, and the book fell back to the floor.

oOo  
  
The first thing Katherine thought was that her head hurt, and she really wanted some aspirin. She opened her eyes and gasped, then shut them tightly, sure that, somehow, her eyes were playing a trick on her. Carefully, Katherine opened her eyes again, to see the same sight as before. She seemed to be in some sort of desert. A dead tree, gnarled and wicked looking, was the only object around, other than the dusty ground and the grayish sky. "Now I know I'm dreaming," she told herself.  
  
Katherine had never had a dream within a dream, but she was sure this was it. She was just still in the same dream as before. When she had fallen through the white floor in her dream with Hotohori, she hadn't really woken up, and was still in the same dream. That was the only possible explanation.  
  
A strong, painful grip on her shoulder convinced her that it wasn't a dream. Two men, in extremely weird clothes were standing in front of her. Katherine quickly twisted out of their grip, feeling very sure of herself. She had a yellow belt in Tae Kwon Do, and thought that she could at least stay away from the men long enough to get away. That is, she was sure of herself until they both pulled out daggers.  
  
Taking advantage of her surprised state, the larger of the two men put his knife around Katherine's throat. "Please let this be a dream," she prayed. Katherine was so confused; she could feel the cold steel against her throat, and yet, the landscape seemed familiar. She had no clue whether what was happening was real or a dream, but she was hoping for the latter.  
  
"We're going to make a pretty nice profit from you, cutie," the man who was holding her chuckled. But his laughter was short-lived, because a moment later, his partner cried out in pain. The first man and Katherine both looked around to see a boy with blue hair twisting the arm of the second man into a painful-looking position.  
  
"Ow, ow, ow! My arm!" the slave-trader cried out as the boy continued turning the man's limb. The boy pushed the slaver to the ground, then began to advance upon the man who was holding Katherine.  
  
Pushing Katherine away, the first man ordered, "Run for it!" The man on the ground scrambled up, still nursing his broken arm, and the men both ran off. The boy watched until the slavers were out of sight. Katherine knew she was in a dream now, as she had just been saved by Tamahome.  
  
"I suppose you want some kind of reward, don't you?" Katherine sighed.  
  
Tamahome smiled, "Well, money is what makes the world go 'round."  
  
"Sorry," Katherine apologized half-heartedly, "But I don't have any."  
  
Tamahome turned around and began to walk away, to where Katherine assumed was the city. "I hate poor people," he waved. "See ya!"  
  
"Wait!" Katherine shouted, running after the boy. "Can't you please show me where the palace is?" Katherine figured that, if it was a dream, she might as well enjoy it and meet Hotohori.  
  
Tamahome stopped in his tracks, then asked in disbelief, "So you expect me to save you and do you a favor...for free?"  
  
"Please?!"  
  
"No way! I'm not going to waste my time showing you around while I could be spending my time making some money," replied Tamahome.  
  
But Katherine couldn't just give up. She knew she could wake up at any time and didn't want to spend a perfectly good dream hanging around Tamahome, especially when she could be meeting Hotohori. So Katherine ended up following the boy until they reached the capital, when Tamahome came up with an escape plan and got rid of Katherine in a crowd of people.  
  
"Tamahome!' Katherine yelled. "Get back here!"  
  
As he hurried away, Tamahome wondered, "How did she know my name?"

oOo  
  
"Oh, great!" Katherine thought sarcastically, "Now I'm in another world and I don't even have Tamahome! Oh well. I don't even like him." She decided that, if she was going to find Hotohori, she was going to have to find the palace, so she began asking for directions. Most people tried to stay away from her, obviously perturbed by her strange clothes. The few people who did talk to her either gave lousy directions or started flirting with her, which was the last thing she needed in her search for Hotohori.  
  
Finally, a man walked up to her, saying that she looked lost and wondering if she needed any help. "Actually, can you give me directions to the palace, please?" Katherine asked.  
  
"Oh, of course," he replied kindly. He began pointing in the direction she came and told her how to reach the palace.  
  
"Thank you!" she said, running in the direction he had told her to go in.  
  
"No, no. Thank you," he muttered with a sly smile.

oOo  
  
"Have you heard?" asked a patron of one of Konan's many restaurants to anyone who would care to listen.  
  
"About what?" a second man replied from two seats away.  
  
"I just overheard it a little while ago. There was a strangely dressed girl wandering around town," the first man answered.  
  
"Oh yeah I heard about that. She was looking for directions for the palace, right?"  
  
"Um, excuse me. I was wondering if you two know where this girl was last seen." Tamahome interrupted.  
  
"I don't know exactly, but I'd imagine somewhere by the palace," the first man said.  
  
"Oh. Thank you," Tamahome replied, wondering why he was so curious about her. "I spent half the day trying to lose her and now I just asked where she was last seen. For some reason I feel responsible for her...strange," thought the boy.

oOo  
  
"This doesn't seem like they way to the palace," Katherine thought to herself as she walked down a deserted alley. She wasn't getting a good feeling from her surroundings, they seemed harsh, like a setting from the inner cities. She had just turned around, ready to head back to where she had started when four men surrounded her, including the one who had given her the directions.  
  
She was so angry at herself, knowing that she should have seen it coming. "This girl's dressed a lot more strangely than the usual ones," said the man from her left.  
  
"She's probably really loose, too bad we won't be able to sell her as a virgin," remarked another one of the men.  
  
"The clothes alone will fetch a high price, virgin or not," the one who had given her directions smirked.  
  
Knowing there was no way to fight them all, Katherine decided to keep the men distracted just long enough for Tamahome to show up. And she knew he would show up, since it was her dream. But even though it was just a dream, Katherine hated doing the same thing Miaka did, depend on Tamahome to get her out of trouble. But there wasn't much she could do. She didn't know how much longer she'd be asleep, and she still had to find Hotohori.  
  
Katherine fought as hard she could, even to the point of almost breaking her thumb on a punch. "I guess that's what I get for not listening to my Tae Kwon Do instructor all those times he told me to move my thumb in front of my fist." She thought as she shook her sore hand, still fighting a losing battle.  
  
She was beginning to tire, and the men were beginning to tire of the game they had been playing with her. The man who had given her directions, who no longer wanted to fight Katherine, knowing that she would sell for less if she had a bruised eye or body, pulled a dagger out of his pocket. He was advancing on Katherine, who had pressed herself against a wall in an attempt to stay as far away from the blade as possible, when something hard knocked him on the head. He looked up to see someone standing above them on a rooftop. "Who are you?" he demanded.  
  
The figure didn't bother answering, but did scoff, "Four guys...against one girl? And you call yourselves men?" The red mark of the ogre shone like fire as he descended upon the slavers.  
  
**To be continued...**


	3. Episode 2: The Priestesses of Suzaku

**Episode 2  
The Priestesses of Suzaku  
By: Mrs. Tasuki and Nyan Nyan**  
  
Tamahome fought like a demon, kicking and punching so quickly that the men, though they outnumbered him, didn't even stand a chance. Soon, every one of the slave traders was unconscious on the ground. Tamahome turned back to Katherine, who was sitting on the ground. "Are you all right?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah," Katherine said shamefully, embarrassed that she couldn't even take care of herself. "Thank you."  
  
"You were doing pretty good," Tamahome remarked as he helped Katherine to her feet..  
  
"I'm sorry but I still don't have any money to give you," Katherine admitted.  
  
Tamahome gave Katherine a look of pity. "That's okay...I guess..." He quickly changed the subject once he saw the look of defeat on her face. "You're new here aren't you?"  
  
"Yeah...how could ya tell?" Katherine wondered sarcastically.  
  
"Well first of all your clothes..." Tamahome started, not picking up the sarcasm, "and second of all your lack of street smarts."  
  
"Thanks." Katherine said mockingly, rolling her eyes. "Will you please come to the palace with me?" she asked seriously.  
  
"Do you know a scholar there?" Tamahome asked, anxiously hoping for a reward for saving the girl's life twice in one day.  
  
"No, but I have to meet the Emperor," she replied.  
  
"The emperor knows you!?" Tamahome asked excitedly, his eyes wide as he dreamt of the amount of money he would receive. Piles of gold and jewels danced in front of his eyes. He could swim in a pond filled with golden coins.  
  
"Well, no..." Katherine muttered truthfully. The gold and jewels disappeared.  
  
Tamahome was silent for a moment, then burst out laughing. "There's no way you're even getting near the palace, let alone the emperor, if you don't have connections," he choked out in between laughs.  
  
"I guess you're right... I was just having high hopes." Katherine stood there for a while, trying to think of a way she could meet Hotohori. There had to be some way. Thoughts flew into her mind, but she easily dismissed them as soon as they arrived. She had even thought of doing what Miaka did, tripping over herself and almost getting killed. But she ignored it, telling herself it was too dangerous. But after a couple of more moments of thinking, she remembered that she was in a dream. A person can't die in a dream.  
  
"Well, speak of the devil," Tamahome said. Katherine looked up to hear trumpets sounding. She followed Tamahome's gaze to the main street, where a huge caravan threaded through the crowds, watched with interest like the St. Patty's day parade, but without the drunks. Gilded carriages and litters passed by, covered in expensive fabrics and jewels that sparkled like the sun. Katherine followed behind Tamahome as he pushed his way through the crowds for a closer look.  
  
"Okay, here's my chance..." Katherine thought as she moved her way to the front of the crowd, where guards were keeping the masses at bay with their outstretched weapons.  
  
Tamahome muttered, dazed by the riches before him, "Man, that crown on his head... If I only had one ornament off that crown..."  
  
"Here I go..." Katherine mumbled to herself, feeling like a kamikaze pilot. She walked up to the caravan as stealthily as possible hoping that Tamahome wouldn't notice.  
  
"Your Highness!" Katherine shouted, sneaking her way past the guards and standing next to a carriage that was so expensive-looking that none could mistake it for anything other than the emperor's private carriage. "You are the Emperor right?" Katherine continued loudly.  
  
"Who are you?" said the low, velvety voice Katherine had heard so many times from her television.  
  
Katherine thought, "Yes! It's him!" She replied quickly, trying to hold in her squeals of joy, "Oh me...? I'm a nobody...I just have one small favor to ask..."  
  
"Is she...?" Tamahome wondered, his eyes wide in hopes that he was mistaken.  
  
"Could I please have an ornament off your crown?" Katherine continued, holding out her hands as if a jewel would be thrown out of the carriage at any moment.  
  
"That idiot!" Tamahome screamed, pushing his way to the front of the crowd to be held back by a guard.  
  
"Please...can't you just spare one for my friend?" Katherine had never thought she would call Tamahome her friend, but she would have done anything to get the emperor's attention. She pretended to trip over the ground, "accidentally" tearing off a piece of the gold-embroidered cloth that decorated the side of the caravan.  
  
"Uh-oh," Tamahome whispered, shocked at the sudden turn of events.  
  
Katherine added mockingly, "Oh no! I ripped the Emperor's cloth!" The guards turned on her, dozens around her fallen body in a split second.  
  
"You little...for your unforgivable rudeness to your highness, you will be punished!" one of the guards yelled. "Hold still while I cut your head off!"  
  
But Katherine wasn't through yet. She continued sarcastically, "Oh no! What will I ever do without a head?" A cloud of gray smoke surrounded both Katherine and the guards that surrounded her, and she felt someone picking her up.  
  
"Are you stupid!?" Tamahome's voice yelled through the smog. Katherine felt herself stopping, for Tamahome had knelt down on the other side of the street.  
  
"I promise never to act like that again..." Katherine swore, for indeed, after that incident she vowed never to impersonate Miaka ever again. It almost made her cringe that she had acted like the person she hated most.  
  
"I don't think you'll have a chance to act that stupid ever again," Tamahome said worriedly, looking at the guards that had suddenly found and surrounded them. Katherine wanted nothing more than to get away from the guards, whether she met Hotohori or not.  
  
Suddenly, she felt a warm sensation, and the guards began to back off. Katherine looked down at herself to see she was bathed in a bright, red light. She looked at her hands, and found she could see through them, like smoky glass. Tamahome's eyes widened in amazement.  
  
Katherine looked around at the crowd staring at her, like she was some monster. The girl saw the scenery of Konan fade to black. She still heard the voices of the people, thought all she saw was black and red.  
  
"Get his Highness' caravan out of here!" one of the guards ordered, beginning to back up the horses and return to the palace.  
  
"Wait," the emperor said from within his carriage, "What's all the uproar?"  
  
"It's that girl from before," the guard answered," she suddenly began to give off a red light."  
  
"A red light?" the emperor questioned quietly, more to himself than the guards that encircled him.  
  
"Look! The girl is disappearing!" another guard shouted. Katherine screamed as she fell into darkness and red light. At the end of the tunnel of black and red swirls, she could make out a white house.  
  
"Christina's house?" she asked herself. As she fell towards the house, the roof seemed to turn invisible, allowing her to fall through the walls until she saw Christina, lying upon her bed and sketching. "Christina!" she shouted. "I'm right here! I'm in the book!"  
  
But, to Katherine's dismay, Christina didn't seem to hear one word of her yelling. Katherine stretched out her hand to touch her friend, hoping that it would catch her attention, but felt a strange feeling. It was the same feeling she had gotten when she had begun to disappear, almost like a roller coaster. Katherine knew she was being called back to Konan.  
  
Katherine looked around to see the streets of Konan reappearing around her. "Guard!" the emperor's voice yelled. "Seize the boy and girl at once!" Katherine looked up to see Tamahome staring down at her, a look of shock upon his face.  
  
"You...what?" he stuttered. A circle of guards closed in upon Tamahome and Katherine, and dragged them off.

oOo  
  
Tamahome and Katherine were brought to the palace, where they were led down into the dungeons and thrown into a cell. Katherine stood up off the dirty floor where she had been tossed, and dusted the dirt and grime off of her pants.  
  
"Sorry," she sheepishly apologized. "But at least we won't be in here long...I'm sure of it," she added hopefully.  
  
"Yeah," Tamahome replied sarcastically, "before we know it, we'll be executed."  
  
"I'm Katherine," the girl introduced, holding out her hand to Tamahome, a twitchy smile on her face.  
  
Turning his back to her coldly, he replied, "I'm Sou Kishuku, but everyone calls me Tamahome." He threw a dirty look over his shoulder, adding, "But I suppose you already knew that," remembering how she had chased after him, calling his name. "Just out of curiosity, do you always get people who save your life thrown into prison?  
  
"No..." she guiltily answered. "But I think I know a way to get out," she answered, fishing through her pocket for her keys. "Found it!" she said happily, pulling out the chain, where a tiny, yellow, aerosol can was attached. "I knew this pepper spray key chain would come in handy someday," she lied. To be truthful, she had made fun of her mom when she had been given it, wondering when she would ever use it. She fumbled with the chain for a few moments before finally pulling it off of the key ring.

oOo  
  
"Highness, the boy and girl must be executed!" one advisor warned the emperor from where he was seated. He continued, "They say that the girl gave off a red light and vanished! They could be demons!"  
  
The emperor sighed, then replied, "The girl was dressed in foreign clothing. Do you not think she could be more than a demon?"  
  
"But..." the advisor stuttered.  
  
The emperor continued quickly, "I think she may be the Priestess of Suzaku." The advisors looked stunned.  
  
"The Priestess of Suzaku?!" another advisor asked. "You mean the girl of legend, Majesty?"  
  
"Yes. The Priestess of Suzaku..."

oOo  
  
"What is that?" asked the guard, seeing the strangely dressed girl playing with an odd-shaped object.  
  
"Do you wanna see it?" the girl asked slyly, approaching the bars of the cell where the guard was peeking through. "Look at the neat thing it does..." she added, spraying its contents in the unfortunate man's eyes.  
  
The guard screamed in pain. "Ahh! My eyes! What did you do?!" he scratched at his face, rubbing his eyes and dropping his keys as he fell to his knees, raking his eyes in an attempt to get the spray off of his face. Tamahome caught the flying keys as they were thrown at him.  
  
"Tada!" Katherine proudly stated, her arms up in fake modesty as she turned to Tamahome, who opened the door and dragged the still-screaming guard inside before locking it shut.  
  
"Sorry..." Katherine apologized to the guard as she and Tamahome began to leave the dungeon. "But the good news is your eyes will feel better in a few minutes...I think..."

oOo  
  
Katherine and Tamahome snuck down the halls, marveling at the expensive rugs that lined the floors, staring at wonder at everything that was gilded, and looking around in wonder at the expensive vases that lined the walls. The pair hugged the walls, sidling across the halls to look around corners. "Are you sure I can have this incredible stuff?" Tamahome asked excitedly, holding the tiny pepper spray to his heart. "No take backs!"  
  
"I don't see why'd you ever need it..." Katherine muttered, remembering how easily he had defeated the hoodlums who had attacked her. "But sure, why not?" A sudden tapping of feet on the shining wooden floors warned the duo that someone was coming. "Uh-oh..." Katherine gasped quietly. "Someone's coming."  
  
Tamahome grabbed Katherine by her shirt collar, and pulled her and himself into the nearest room. The blue-eyed boy clamped his hand over Katherine's mouth, making sure she didn't speak. They both waited in silence until the footsteps passed. "Man, that was close," Katherine breathed as soon as Tamahome had taken his hand off of her mouth. Katherine looked around to see that Tamahome was no longer behind her. "Tamahome...?" she wondered, looking around the darkened room.  
  
She wandered around the room, and found that it branched out into a larger hall, where a gigantic, gilded statue of a great phoenix was standing, surrounded by candles. Tamahome was standing in front of the golden beast, looking up into its ruby eyes silently. His face was slack, as though the statue was hypnotizing him somehow. Katherine waved her hand in front of his face jokingly. When he didn't notice, she sighed, "I don't have time for this." She left the darkened room, leaving Tamahome in his daydream.  
  
Katherine shut the door and left. The slamming door caused Tamahome to jump, snapping out of his reverie. "Katherine?" he asked, looking around the room confusedly. "Katherine?" He rushed out of the room and into the hallway, where he continued in the direction where they had been heading. "That girl is going to be the death of me..." he muttered in frustration.  
  
oOo  
  
Katherine had walked aimlessly down the corridors of the palace. Luckily, she hadn't run into anyone the entire time, and ended up in a courtyard. She walked over the stone pathways, looking around that the beautiful flowers that surrounded her. She turned around to see a person sitting upon one of the railings, wearing a plain white robe. "Here he is..." Katherine thought to herself, recognizing Hotohori in an instant.  
  
"Are you lost?" the man asked, leaping off of the railing and gliding up to the girl.  
  
Katherine, still in a daze, answered, "It's all good..."  
  
"What?" questioned the cross-dressing emperor with a tilt of his head.  
  
"Oh, sorry," Katherine apologized, shaking her head and returning to reality. "It's just a phrase people use in my world..."  
  
A look of surprise appeared on the emperor's face. "Your world? That's so interesting!?" The man walked around Katherine, prodding and staring at her with wonderment. "Wait...aren't you that girl who assaulted the emperor?" he asked, a look of sly mischief upon his face.  
  
Katherine quickly replied, "That was all a misunderstanding. I wish I could tell the emperor I was sorry..." she said, trying not to reveal that she knew who the cross-dresser truly was. "And what's worst of all..." she continued, "because of me, Tamahome's in trouble too..."  
  
A loud voice in the distance caused both Katherine and the emperor to look to the other side of the courtyard. "I don't know where she is!" Tamahome's voice yelled.  
  
"Still won't talk, eh?" a guard replied angrily.  
  
"I can't tell you what I don't know!" Tamahome shouted back. His hands were bound behind his back, so he couldn't move.  
  
"Why you little..." another guard threatened, pointing the tip of his spear at Tamahome's neck.  
  
Another guard pointed in Katherine's direction, bellowing, "Look! There's the girl!"  
  
"Katherine!" Tamahome shouted. "Run!" The soldiers began to rush towards the girl, who began to slowly back away, frightened by the mob of guards chasing after her. As the guards closed in around Katherine, the symbol on Tamahome's forehead began to shine fiercely. In one swift move, Tamahome broke the rope that held his wrists apart.  
  
"Silence!" the man wearing the white robe shouted as he spotted the mark on Tamahome's forehead glow. He threw aside his robe, revealing much more sta  
  
The guards all froze, then sunk into low bows. "Your Highness!" they said.  
  
Tamahome paused, looking back and forth from the guards to the man who had been in the white robe. "You...You're the emperor?!" he asked in disbelief. The man smiled and nodded slightly.  
  
Tamahome and Katherine both struggled to kneel upon one knee as quickly as possible, bowing to the emperor of Konan.

oOo  
  
"I apologize for tricking you," the emperor said as he sat upon his great, gilded throne. "But I had to find out your intentions," he explained. "And now that we know you're not demons..." he continued, a smile playing on his face as he stared at his advisors, who cringed from his glare, knowing they had been mistaken.  
  
"That's okay," Katherine shrugged, staring up at the beautiful emperor.  
  
"But, I do have a favor to ask of you," he continued.  
  
"What would that be?" asked Katherine innocently, although she was sure she knew what the question would be.  
  
"There is a legend that proclaims that, when the empire is in turmoil, a priestess will travel from another world to save it. Will you become the Priestess of Suzaku?"  
  
"Ye-"Katherine began. But, before she could finish her answer, her mind flew to the deal she had jokingly made with Christina, months and months ago.  
  
"So, if one of us gets sucked into an ancient Chinese novel..." Christina began.  
  
Katherine finished happily, "Then whoever got lucky would go back out and get the other." The girls shook hands, smiling on their deal.  
  
And here was Katherine, in the very spot she was sure she never would have been. Katherine found she couldn't break their promise, whether it had been more of a joke than true deal or not. "Can...can there be two priestesses?" Katherine asked meekly.  
  
The emperor looked quite taken aback. "The legend does say 'girl'..." he replied slowly.  
  
"It's just that I made this promise with my friend...and I think it would work better if there were two of us..." Katherine mumbled quietly.  
  
The emperor placed his hand under his chin, and asked, "Is your friend with you?" He looked at Tamahome, as though the blue-haired boy would know.  
  
Katherine sighed, "Well...no...but can't we travel back to my world and get her?"  
  
The emperor frowned; he was in quite a predicament. He couldn't just deny the girl what she wanted; she was the girl of legend, he was sure of it. And if she couldn't get her friend, then there was a chance that she wouldn't become the Priestess of Suzaku. "If we try our hardest to find your friend...will you then become our priestess?"  
  
"Of course!" Katherine shouted happily, jumping to her feet.  
  
The emperor stood up from his throne, lifting his arm for all to pay attention. "Listen, all of you!" he proclaimed. "This is the girl who will gain the power of Suzaku! She who shall save our empire, the Priestess of Suzaku, has appeared!"  
  
Katherine, now the Priestess of Suzaku, was led outside from the throne room. She stepped out of the palace to find hundreds of people waiting outside and bowing low. Her heart stopped as she viewed the crowed of follower. She had agreed to save a country.  
  
**To be continued...**

* * *

Author's Note: Some of you, especially those who are Tamahome and/or Miaka lovers, may notice that the main characters aren't the nicest to Tamahome, but that's because we are notorious Tamahome haters. Please do not send us hate mail/reviews! We also thought it would be more interesting if the main characters didn't fall in love with him.... We are going to tone down our hatred, so we don't hurt the Tamahome lovers, but keep in mind; he's one of our least favorite characters! It's really hard to write stuff for him without our extreme dislike interfering. Hope you're enjoying the fic!  
  
Mrs. Tasuki and Nyan Nyan 


	4. Episode 3: The Seven Stars of Suzaku

**Episode 3  
The Seven Stars of Suzaku  
By: Nyan Nyan and Mrs. Tasuki**  
  
A worn and tattered book lay stranded upon the dust and grime covered floorboards, one of many old and ancient novels in the room. Alone, The Universe of the Four Gods seemed to have a light falling upon it, as if the other books in the other cases were looking down upon it with jealousy. Slowly, words darkened and appeared on the old, yellowed pages of the book, fading up like bubbles floating to the surface of a pond. The page turned, and another sentence began. "The girl then fell asleep in the Konan palace, and dreamed..."  
  
oOo  
  
Katherine looked around her. She was at her house, in her living room. Her living room with the beige carpeting and blue chairs and plaid couch, where the television was angled in the corner and the fireplace ledge was always stacked with blankets. She looked up, over to where her kitchen should have been. Instead, Christina was standing in the blank space, and, even though her legs weren't moving, she as slowly fading backwards.  
  
She ran towards Christina, but when she reached her friend, Katherine realized Christina was no longer there. In her place was Katherine's sister, Joan. Katherine yelled, "Joan!" as she stretched out her arms, leaning forward to merely touch her sister.  
  
"I'm not 'Joan'..." said Katherine's sister.  
  
Katherine pulled back her arm in surprise. "What?"  
  
"I said, I'm not 'Joan'," Tamahome repeated. Katherine bolted out of bed, and looked to her right to see that Tamahome was sitting on the side of the mattress.  
  
"What are you doing here?" she wondered, pulling her sheets tighter around herself.  
  
"The emperor asked me to see how you were feeling," Tamahome explained, giving Katherine a feeling that he hadn't exactly been pleased with his job either. "Do you always sleep in this late?" he asked, looking out the window to see that the sun was high overhead.  
  
Katherine yawned, answering, "Only when I don't have school." She stood up and stretched tiredly, adding, "I should probably talk to Hoto- I mean, the emperor about getting back to me world..." She walked out of the room, leaving Tamahome inside, all by himself. She wandered around the winding palace corridors for a few minutes before finally locating a guard. "Do you know where the emperor is?" she questioned.  
  
The soldier looked her up and down for a moment, as though trying to determine her worthiness. He seemed to be satisfied, as he quickly answered, "Go straight down the hallway, turn left, another left, and to the right. It's the door right in front, you can't miss it." He looked her up and down once more before adding, "But His Highness is in a meeting, and shouldn't be bothered."  
  
"Thank you!" Katherine said as she began to briskly walk down the hallway, knowing that the 'important meeting' was really just a long, narcissistic gaze in a mirror.  
  
oOo  
  
The emperor of Konan, self-proclaimed most beautiful man in the country, was spending the first part of the morning in the fashion he always did; staring at his own beauty in a mirror. He turned his face to the, then to the right, then back again, tilting his chin and trying new expressions. He was trying to find his best pose, but it was just impossible, as all of them looked frighteningly perfect.  
  
He smiled a perfect grin as he realized that his advisors were also enamored with his reflection. Every time he opened his mouth and breathed like he was about to say something, the advisors would gasp and hold their breath, clearly captivated by his magnificence. With a single, perfect sigh, the emperor whispered to his reflection, "I'm so beautiful, I scare even myself." The emperor heard a choking noise from each of his advisors, but he ignored it and held his stately chin in his hand. A quiet knock distracted the emperor from his previous work, and he asked, "Who is it?"  
  
The Priestess of Suzaku peeked into the room, quietly saying, "It's me." The emperor turned his attention back to the looking glass, and tried his best pose again.  
  
"Come in," he told her, his deep eyes still fixated on the reflection. The priestess entered and closed the door behind her, where she stood with her hands clasped behind her back.  
  
"I'm sorry to disturb your...meeting," she apologized. "I was just wondering when we can send me back to my world..."  
  
The emperor swept out of his chair, standing straight and tall so he towered over the girl. "The only way to send you back to your world would be to journey to Mount Taikyoku," he began, starting to pace around the room, his steps followed by the eyes of his advisors. "Is it not your wish to know the duties of the priestess first?"  
  
Katherine looked perplexed for a moment, wondering why he wanted to brief her on the duties of a priestess when she was practically an expert on the matter. Then she realized where she was, and quickly replied, "Yes! Of course!"  
  
The emperor reached into the folds of his royal robes and pulled out a scroll of yellowed parchment, saying more to himself than to Katherine, "The information on that matter is written here." Unrolling it, and holding it up, he asked, "Do you know what this is?"  
  
"It looks familiar," she answered innocently.  
  
"This is The Universe of the Four Gods."  
  
"What is it?" asked a voice. Katherine looked behind her to see that Tamahome had suddenly materialized in the room.  
  
"It is a book of prophecy given to Lord Taiso, the first emperor, by Taiitsukun, the ruler of this world," stated the emperor. "The 'four gods' are actually the twenty-eight constellations in the sky, which are divided into the northern, southern, eastern, and western groups. Among them is 'Suzaku', the seven constellations in the southern sky. Each constellation has their own names. Chichiri, Tamahome, Nuriko, Hotohori, Chiriko, Tasuki, Mitsukake; they're called the seven constellations of Suzaku."  
  
The emperor snaked his right hand up to the left side of his neck and pulled down his collar, revealing a glowing mark. "I am Hotohori," he revealed, "the sea serpent. Tamahome, you are the crab, one of the Suzaku Seven." Tamahome looked surprised as his mark began to shine fiercely, affirming the actuality of the statement. "We must give our assistance to and protect the Priestess of Suzaku."  
  
Now seemingly understanding the legend completely and totally, Tamahome asked in disbelief, "So...if we find five other people with the constellations on their bodies...then we can summon Suzaku?"  
  
"That is correct," replied Hotohori. "Once the Suzaku Seven are assembled, the power of Suzaku will appear." He lifted the scroll up once more, saying, "In this scroll are clues to find the other seishi."  
  
"When I get back with Christina, we'll find the other five as fast as we can," Katherine swore.  
  
Hotohori continued as if the priestess had not interrupted at all. "The third constellation is referred to by the characters 'gong' and 'wu'. The first symbols means palace, and the second means strength.  
  
"Well," appeased Katherine, "since the third one is in the palace...we could just find that one right now...before we leave..."  
  
The emperor turned around to face his advisors, who were not paying attention and practically jumped in the air with surprise. "Assemble the most gifted fighters and scholars in the palace!" commanded Hotohori.  
  
oOo  
  
"Your Highness! Priestess of Suzaku! We have assembled the greatest scholar- warriors in the palace, as you ordered!" shouted on advisor, seemingly pleased about how quickly the task had been accomplished. Hotohori had sat down on a throne in the courtyard, next to a rather large pagoda, and covered by a large canopy to keep the sun out of his eyes. Katherine and Tamahome had stood next to his gaudy throne, feeling very out of place.  
  
Tamahome stepped out, loudly cracking his knuckles as he approached the group. "Let me give 'em a little test," he mischievously muttered. Tamahome quickly knocked the warriors to the ground, in the air, and into each other. Within moments, the air was filled with agonizing shouts of pain. Tamahome stepped back, obviously pleased with his show of manliness.  
  
"Tamahome," Hotohori asked with a sigh, "what does that demonstrate, other than your own strength?"  
  
"I don't think any of these people are seishi," Katherine said, walking closer to Hotohori. She waved at the palace, asking, "Could we assemble the courtiers?"  
  
One of the warrior-scholars, unfortunately, overheard Katherine's idea. Already bruised and battered by Tamahome's thrashing, he was not in a good mood, and shouted to the men around him, "She thinks that one of the seishi is a woman!"  
  
"Let's get her!" shouted another. The crowd of men quickly stood up and ran towards the girl, like a tidal wave about to break on the shore. Katherine quickly ran to the other side of the courtyard, only to be trailed by the mob of men still. They began to throw their weapons at her, spears, swords, hammers. And when their weapons were gone, they resorted to picking up vases from the courtyard paths and hurling them as well.  
  
Tamahome watched the girl and the mob that chased her run back and forth in front of his very eyes "I guess they don't take a woman out-doing a man as an insult in her world," he said in amazement.  
  
"We need to stop them before they hurt her!" Hotohori hollered at Tamahome, quickly standing to his feet.  
  
oOo  
  
"Lady Kourin," pleaded the courtier's handmaiden, "let's go back. If we are discovered...we will get in trouble." The women were standing atop one of the garden's many bridges, watching the emperor and Priestess of Suzaku with interest. Lady Kourin had always been one to disregard rules, but her handmaiden did not expect the courtier to throw aside rules in front of the emperor and a girl from another world all in one go.  
  
"Is that the infamous Priestess of Suzaku?" the woman asked, ignoring her handmaiden's plea.  
  
"Yes..." the servant replied in a meek voice.  
  
"Not nobility...yet so close to the emperor..." marveled the courtier. "And who is that man next to them," questioned the woman, pointing her hand at the handsome boy with the blue hair.  
  
"That is Tamahome," one of the Suzaku Seishi," the handmaiden explained.  
  
"Tamahome..." Lady Kourin whispered to herself, trying out the name, seeing what it sounded like when she breathed it softly; she liked it.  
  
oOo  
  
Katherine ducked down, almost tripping, as one of the warriors hurled a spear at her. She felt her hair swish and heard the spear whistle as it flew over her head, missing her by mere inches. Another soldier threw a huge, wooden mallet at her, but it missed and struck one of the rounded support beams that held up the pagoda.  
  
The pagoda began to shake, and the beam began to crumble away from where it had been hit by the mallet. Katherine didn't realize the danger she was in by just standing under the pagoda's roof, as she was still in shock from the spear passing by her head.  
  
Hotohori darted towards Katherine, shouting, "Katherine!"  
  
Snapping out of her shocked state, Katherine tried to run out from under the crumbling pagoda, but she was too late; it had begun to collapse. She screamed and closed her eyes as she dove down, praying that somehow it would miss her, that she would end up standing where a window had been, and be perfectly fine. The structure fell around her noisily, and she heard the sound of splintering wood, but felt nothing.  
  
Too afraid to open her eyes for fear that she was already dead, she told herself, "Tamahome must have saved me. I'm fine." She opened one eye the tiniest bit, hoping not to see pearly-white gates. A look of shock came upon her face as she stared up at the emperor. "Hotohori?" she marveled, thinking, "I wonder why he saved me, and not Tamahome..."  
  
"Hotohori, what are you doing?" she asked worriedly, "You'll be killed!" A bead of sweat ran down the emperor's cheek, splashing onto Katherine neck, as the character on his neck shone brightly, like light itself had been etched into his skin.  
  
The only light was coming from the symbol on Hotohori's neck, illuminating the small area in which the two were stuck, surrounded by rubble and broken wood. "There was nothing else I could do," he answered simply.  
  
Seeing him slowly weaken, sinking lower towards her, Katherine replied, "You could have just stood there! You're putting your life in danger!"  
  
Struggling, he choked out, "If I didn't come, your life would be in danger."  
  
"But you're the emperor!" she objected.  
  
"And you are the priestess. Konan needs you," he answered. Katherine had never thought her predicament through that far. Her becoming a priestess meant that the entire country depended upon her, that she was more important than even the emperor. Having so many people count on her was frightening; she didn't know what to do, having so many lives depend on one girl. "Damn it," the emperor quietly cursed. "I...can't hold it..."  
  
Katherine looked up in fear as Hotohori slowly descended towards her, along with the pagoda that was resting on his back. Their faces were no more than an inch apart, and Katherine found herself staring up into Hotohori's eyes, which were closed in his effort to hold up the immense weight. Katherine pleaded to herself, "Come on Nuriko...where are you?"  
  
oOo  
  
"Majesty!" exclaimed the pack of advisors as they ran towards the pile of collapsed pagoda. They gathered around the rubble and began to pick at the rubble, lifting up piece by piece of the broken wood and stones. "Highness, can you hear us?" they yelled at the pile as they continued to fruitlessly lift rocks off of the sides. Tamahome rushed over, picking up the bigger rocks, but it was all to no avail; not even the strongest man in Konan could have lifted the pillars and concrete.  
  
"Allow me to handle this," came a sultry voice from behind the men. They turned around to see a woman standing there with long lavender hair and sparkling amethyst eyes. Her skin was a smooth, creamy, ivory color that made her seem as if she was somehow glowing. By her expensive robes, they guessed that she was one of the courtiers of the seraglio.  
  
The advisors turned back to the rubble, thinking, "What could a woman possibly do?" The courtier walked between two of the men, who were frantically digging through the broken bits of wood, leaned down, and grasped onto one of the large pillars. She easily lifted it up and threw it behind her, as if it were nothing more than a feather.  
  
Everyone turned to the woman in shock. She continued, lifting up boulder after boulder and pillar after pillar, tossing them all over her shoulder and causing everyone behind her to run about as they tried to dodge the rubble. "Well, aren't you two lucky ones," she said sarcastically as she picked up the pillar that had been resting upon Hotohori's back.  
  
"Highness!' cried the advisors as the rushed towards the remains of the pagoda, "Are you all right!?"  
  
Ignoring his advisors, Hotohori kneeled down next to Katherine, asking, "Are you all right?"  
  
Katherine squirmed, feeling guilty that he was worried about her when he had just been holding up a pillar of stone to save her. "I'm fine...it's just my leg..." she mumbled.  
  
At this revelation, Hotohori shouted, "Get a doctor here, quickly!"  
  
Tamahome approached the violet-haired courtier slowly, and asked in a tone full of distrust and skepticism, "How are you so powerful?"  
  
The woman shrunk down, and timidly asked, "Why would you wish to know...?"  
  
"Well...I just imagine it would come in handy..." Tamahome reasoned. The woman's eyes became wide in disbelief, as if he had just called her a goddess or proposed.  
  
"Really?" she asked excitedly. Tamahome didn't answer, as he was quite put off by her reaction to his simple question.  
  
"Excuse me..." interrupted the emperor. He turned to the woman, asking, "You're one of the courtiers, aren't you? And the power you displayed...could that possibly be..."  
  
The woman straightened up formally, and took a deep breath. In a noble tone, she stated, "I am Kourin, or 'Nuriko', the constellation." The woman pulled down an inch of the fabric of her collar to show a shining red symbol just below her collarbone.  
  
The doctor who had arrived finished tying up Katherine's leg, so the priestess stood up and hobbled over to the woman, extending her palm for a handshake. "Thank you for helping us," she smiled. The woman ignored Katherine, and walked over to Tamahome, staring up coyly at the blushing sei. "I don't have time for this..." Katherine thought angrily.  
  
oOo  
  
Tamahome walked down one of the winding, twisting corridors of the palace, trying to find his way to the room he was given. The emperor had been kind even to let him stay at the palace, in a room of his own, and most of Tamahome's time was spent gawking at the splendor of the palace of Konan. Behind him, the boy heard footsteps, walking quietly, but quickly. He spun around, asking, "Can I help you?"  
  
The lady Kourin was standing behind him. Hotohori had relieved the woman of her duties at the inner seraglio, as she was a sei of Suzaku, and also given her a room of her own, next to Katherine's room.  
  
"No...I was just..." the courtier blushed.  
  
"Listen..." Tamahome sighed, becoming tired of her following him everywhere. Everywhere he turned, she was there, gawking at him, her lavender eyes always watching. "I like you and all...and you seem nice...but–"  
  
"You like me?" Lady Kourin squealed excitedly. She ran over to the sei, hugging him in a bone-crushingly tight embrace, obviously forgetting that she possessed the strength of Atlas.  
  
"No," objected the boy, "that's not what I–" The boy was cut off from his protest when the lady planted a kiss upon his lips, still hugging him so tightly he could barely breathe, let alone object.  
  
Katherine walked past the two, on her way to her room, and noticed that, even though in mid-smooch, the Lady Kourin gave her a victorious look. Katherine rolled her eyes, leaving Nuriko and Tamahome to their business. She couldn't help but shake her head and smile, wondering what Tamahome would think if he only knew that the lady Kourin, Nuriko, was not a woman.  
  
oOo  
  
A while later, Katherine walked to Nuriko's door, knocking softly on the wood. "Come in," said the voice of Lady Kourin. Katherine entered quietly to see that the woman was seated on top of Tamahome, who was tied up, as if he were a couch. She was looking into a mirror, and playing with her hair, ignoring Tamahome's struggles and muffled shots.  
  
"Can I talk to you...alone?" questioned Katherine, giving a piteous look to Tamahome.  
  
"Of course," said Nuriko, clapping her hands. Her servants, which had been stationed at the corners of the room, rolled Tamahome outside into the hallway and cleared out, shutting the door behind them with flourished bows.  
  
"You know..." muttered Katherine, "you really don't have to torture Tamahome like that..."  
  
Raising her voice slightly and looking at Katherine with an arrogant sneer, she asked, "What are you talking about?"  
  
"Well...I know you don't love him," Katherine continued.  
  
"And what gives you the right to think that you have any idea?"  
  
Katherine paused for a moment, not knowing whether or not to end the conversation and run. Looking down at the wooden flooring, she inquired, "You love Hotohori, don't you?"  
  
The courtier froze, glaring at the girl with hatred-filled eyes. "Get out," the woman whispered. Katherine didn't dare to budge, causing Nuriko to raise her hand, pointing at the doorway regally. "Get out!" she screamed.  
  
Katherine scampered out of the room and quickly closed the door behind her. "That could have gone better..." she mumbled to herself, walking down the hall and towards the gardens.  
  
oOo  
  
After being shouted at by Nuriko, Katherine sat down on a wooden bench in the courtyard to think. She felt the slightest bit calmer, being surrounded by the mass of lovely flowers and trees. "What am I going to do about Nuriko?" she sighed forlornly. A rustling behind her caused Katherine to look over her shoulder and see Tamahome. He was crawling towards her like some sort of worm, as he was still wrapped in the white cords.  
  
Standing up, she said, "Let me help you." She struggled with the tight knots at first, but soon enough, he stood before her, a free man. "I tried to get her to stop treating you like that," she added, sitting back down on the bench.  
  
"I know," replied Tamahome, sitting down next to her.  
  
Slyly, Katherine asked, "Do you like her?" To be truthful, she was slightly hoping he would say yes, just so she could see his face when Nuriko was revealed to be a man.  
  
"No," said the sei, shaking his head. "I just met her...and we don't have much in common..."  
  
"Oh...you have more in common than you think," Katherine smiled.  
  
Tamahome laughed, sarcastically asking, "What do you know?"  
  
Katherine bit her tongue, desperately trying to stop herself from sardonically replying, "More than you..."  
  
**To be continued...**


	5. Episode 4: Conflicting Emotions

Authors' Note: Hi! This episode has some information on Christina! From now on she's a VERY important character, just as important as Katherine. Anyways, I want to take this time to say that if you want to be notified whenever we post a new episode, email me (Nyan Nyan) at NyanNyan321 aol .com . And I will ask Mrs. Tasuki to put you guys on a mailing list. Well, I guess that's about it. Oh yeah! (I have to say this in all the Authors Notes) Please write a review! Pretty please? We LOVE getting reviews!

Nyan Nyan and Mrs. Tasuki

Episode 4:

Conflicting Emotions

By: Mrs. Tasuki and Nyan Nyan 

Christina walked out of her room in the basement and put her new CD into the boom box. She pulled the cover back off of her pool and dove into the warm water. As she surfaced she looked through the skylights to see rolling gray clouds blocking out the sun. She glanced out the glass doors that surrounded the pool and saw raindrops falling gently. It was nice to be alone, away from her family for once.

Suddenly a sharp pain shot up her right leg. She slowly swam to the side of the pool, thinking it was a cramp. Christina lifted herself out of the blue pool water and walked into the Jacuzzi, hoping her leg would feel better. She leaned into the side of the hot tub and closed her eyes. A few minutes later, she slowly opened her eyes and looked into the clear water. It was tainted red. She quickly stepped out of the Jacuzzi and dried off. Her leg was bleeding.

"Holy crap!" she exclaimed as she hobbled into her bathroom. The blood started dripping down her leg onto the tile around her pool and into the next room. She grabbed some toilet paper to mop up the blood running down her leg. She rummaged through her cabinet until she found a large gauze bandage. She put it on her leg and secured it with medical tape. She put on a pair of jeans and a black tank top as she tossed her white swimsuit into the washer, hoping it wouldn't be tainted pink forever. Then she went back into her small bathroom with an old rag to clean up the mess she made.

"Christina!" An angry voice yelled. She quickly got up off of her knees and went to the bottom of the stairs to answer her father.

"Yes?" she asked timidly, slightly shrinking.

"You left the pool cover off again!" he yelled.

"I was going to put it back on but I was bleeding and-" she stammered.

Not letting his daughter finish, he continued, "I don't want to hear your excuses, just cover up the pool! Now go! And turn off your music! It's too loud!"

She scrambled over to the pool, covered it, and turned off the Jacuzzi. She put her CD back in its case and went back into the bathroom to finish the rest of the cleaning. Once she was done she walked back into the main part of the basement and found a pile of dirty dishes on the table. Her little brother and sister must have been eating downstairs again.

"Jordan! Ashley!" she yelled up the stairs. "Get your dishes out of the basement!" Her mother's head appeared in the doorway.

"Why don't you bring them up!" she accused. "It's _your_ basement!"

"But it's _their_ dishes!" Christina argued.

"Do you want to move back upstairs?" her mother threatened. "When you moved downstairs, it became _your_ responsibility!"

Christina sighed as she loaded her arms with dishes. She balanced them carefully as she walked up the stairs. When she got to the kitchen she rinsed them out and stuffed them into the dishwasher. "This isn't fair!" she complained, but her mother didn't reply. She stomped downstairs to her room and flopped onto her bed. "Life is so unfair…" shemuttered to herself. "I just want to get out of this house!"

oOo

The birds chirped a harmonious melody throughout the courtyard. The setting sun set the ideal atmosphere in the wonderland paradise of Konan. That is, for the exception of the constant quarreling between priestess and sei.

"You're jealous of Nuriko and me...aren't you?" Tamahome asked with a smile that took up his whole face.

"Of course not!" Katherine exclaimed as she almost fell off the bench with disgust.

As if the priestess's words went in one ear and out the other, the sei continued, "I wouldn't blame you. After all I am a kind, macho, and a beefcake of a martial artist."

Katherine rolled her hazel eyes as Tamahome stood up and flexed his muscles. "Trust me. I don't, as in do not, love you," she simply stated, crossing her arms in protest.

oOo

Still dressed in her blue jeans and light blue shirt, Katherine walked down the palace hallway. It was now pitch black, but she was wide awake. She always had trouble sleeping, it seemed to be one of her presents when she became a teenager and dealt with stress on a regular basis. She saw Nuriko leaning on the railing looking sadly at the sky. She approached the courtier cautiously, knowing that she and Nuriko weren't exactly the best of friends. "Nuriko, what's wrong?" she asked once she became within hearing distance.

"Katherine!" Nuriko yelped, slightly startled. "Will you do me a favor?" she asked in a much more serious tone.

"Sure, what is it?" she replied, hoping that maybe Nuriko was starting to like her.

"I lost an earring that's very special to me. It looks just like this one," Nuriko started as she showed the priestess the light green earring in her hand. Katherine simply rolled her eyes, letting Nuriko continue with her charade. "I believe I lost it somewhere by the pond. It's easier to find it at night, since it glows, but all of my servants are too scared to go. Can you please find it for me?" she innocently asked.

Katherine just stared at Nuriko for a second to see if the courtier actually expected her to believe the story. Right when she was about to reveal she wasn't going to fall for such a feeble lie, she thought it would be better to just go along with it. This way Nuriko could be satisfied with herself for tricking the priestess and Katherine could have some time to herself. "Sure. I'll be back ASAP!" Katherine said almost too cheerfully as she turned around and ran down the hallway.

oOo

Standing in a pagoda, Hotohori looked at his two advisors in disbelief. "What?" he asked, sure his ears deceived him.

"Well highness you're already eighteen. It's time that you considered choosing an empress," the first advisor started.

"Why else have we assembled the most beautiful women here to serve as your royal escorts? But yet you continue to ignore them," the second advisor added as they started to walk out of the pagoda.

"That's because I am far more beautiful than they are," he replied. Both of his advisors look at him strangely. "That was a joke."

"Of course! Hahahaha," his advisorsexclaimed in unison, making the emperor consider whether or not the two shared a brain.

Inwardly sighing at the two's constant obedience, Hotohori continued, "Right now my main concern is calming the people for a rumor is going around that we are going to war with Kutou. I just can't think about choosing an empress at a time like this."

"But highness, what about that girl...Nuriko isn't it?" the second advisor asked.

"She is one of the Suzaku Seven; she must be relieved of her duties as an escort. And besides, I have always had the ideal woman pictured in my mind, ever since I was a boy," the emperor replied, recalling his past.

"Your ideal woman?" the second advisor questioned.

Hotohori saw Katherine sitting in the soft grass looking up at the stars. "Advisors, you are dismissed," Hotohori said, never moving his eyes off the girl.

"But Highness!" the two exclaimed in unison. Hotohori turned around and glared at the two, his usually soft golden eyes instantly turning to a cold bronze. The advisors immediately understood and scampered away, about to busy themselves in useless paperwork.

"What are you doing here Katherine?" Hotohori asked as he walkedacross the dew-covered grass.

Startledby the sudden voice, Katherine turned around in shock. "Oh! Hi Hotohori!" shegreeted cheerfully. "Nuriko tried to trick me into finding a nonexistent earring all night long, but I knew she was lying. I told her I would look for it since I thought it would be a great way to get some me-time," she rattled off, almost too fast for the emperor to understand. It was obvious though, through her overly chipper voice that Nuriko's trickery was getting under her skin.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'll leave you alone then," he replied as he started to turn back around.

"No wait! I want you to stay," she called after him.

Partially turning towards her, he asked, "Are you sure?" not knowing if the priestess truly wanted him there. Katherine smiled and nodded.

"Okay," Hotohori said uneasily while sitting down beside her. "I'll have to talk to Nuriko about tricking you like that."

"Oh no. Please don't," she rebutted.

"Why not?" he asked curiously.

"Well h-_she _doesn't like me, and I don't really blame her. I mean, I haven't really been the friendliest to her," Katherine explained, realizing she hadn't made the best first impression to any of the seishi so far.

"I'm sure she'll come to her senses," Hotohori said as he put her arm around her shoulder.

"And besides," Katherine continued, trying to stay serious, even though inside she was overjoyed, "you can't force someone to feel something they don't." Hotohori sat in silence, contemplating on the statement as Katherine continued to look at the stars.

oOo

"That girl is such a fool! Going out to a dark pond to search for an earring that doesn't even exist! I never set one foot outside the palace. To think I'd ever go there!" Nuriko said boastfully as she looked at herself in the mirror.

"Indeed, I wonder if she's gotten soaked in the pond yet. That may be fitting for a girl from another world who doesn't know anything about court etiquette," her servant behind her agreed.

Nuriko heard a noise behind her and turned around to find Tamahome standing at the door frame with a shocked look on his face. "Tamahome…" Nuriko whispered under her breath.

"Is what you said true?" Tamahome asked in disbelief, but when he looked into her eyes he knew that it was. He started to run off to the pond, but he was a second too slow. Angry with the attention-hogging priestess, Nuriko grabbed Tamahome's arm, forbidding him to leave her side. "Let go of me you muscle-bound…!"

"I won't let you go, not to her!" Nuriko said raging with anger.

Just then Katherine walked by arm-in-arm with Hotohori. As she passed the doorframe to Nuriko's room, she couldn't resist the urge to give the courtier a victory sign. "Oh that girl..." she muttered under her breath, turning red as hell.

oOo

"Well, here's your room," Hotohori said, standing in front of Katherine's door. Overwhelming thoughts swarmed his mind as he stood silently looking down at the girl.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow…." Katherine said awkwardly, opening the door. She wanted to say more, but the right words were not to be found.

"Sweet dreams," he said with a slight smile.

"Thanks. You too," Katherine blushed as she closed her door.

oOo

Hotohori knelt on the ground, saying a quick prayer to Suzaku when a heard a soft knock at the door. "Who is it?" he asked, knowing his servants rarely entered his chambers. He reached his hand out touching his sword, just in case.

"It's me," Katherine answered as she opened the door slightly.

"Oh. Come in," Hotohori said more relaxed as he moved his hand away from his sword.

"I know this could have waited till morning, but I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep well unless if I told you now…" Katherine started. She stopped for a moment or two, not sure how to phrase what she was about to say next. Hotohori looked at her patiently as she searched through her mind for the right words. "I really kinda feelbad for Nuriko, and I'm know I'm not helping," she continued while staring at the floor, now feeling guilty for the 'victory' sign she gave the courtier earlier that night.

"How?" he inquisitively asked, trying to understand what the priestess was telling him.

"Well, she loves you...and me monopolizing your time is making her even more angry and depressed," she stated without moving her gaze from the white flooring.

"I see..." Hotohori whispered as he turned his head away from her and blushed slightly.

Finally looking up, she finished, "I'm just asking if you could pay just a tad more attention to her."

"I'll see what I can do..." he replied reassuringly.

"Thanks. And goodnight...again," Katherine said as she moved towards the door.

"Katherine. Wait."

Turning around, Katherine asked, "Yes?"

Never losing his nerve, the confident emperor asked, "Do you love someone?"

"Um…wh-why do you want to know?" Katherine stammered nervously. Ever since she had entered the mystical land of the book she waited patiently for this moment. Yet, this was not how she had imagined it. She knew if she didn't leave quickly there would only be disappointment to follow. "I should really be going..." she muttered quickly, swallowing hard as she turned once again towards the door.

"Katherine, please. This will only take a moment," Hotohori stated, reaching out and gently grabbing her arm. Unable to speak up, the priestess nervously waited for the emperor to continue. "For a long time I've loved someone...a girl I dreamed of," he started as he turned his head to the side, staring at his bedspread. For the first time in his life, he was uncertain about where his actions would lead him. "When I was a child, and first heard the story of the Priestess of Suzaku, a girl who would appear from another world I always wondered what she would be like. Katherine, you are the girl I imagined...no wait, you are better than the girl I imagined. No one else holds an interest for me. You are the only one I want to know about…everything Iwanted and more is in you. Will you become my wife and empress once you have summoned Suzaku?"

Thoughts swarming her mind like the butterflies in her stomach, Katherine nervously bit her bottom lip, not knowing how to answer. A couple days ago she would have rushed in head first, knowing that sooner or later she would wake up in her bed and start another boring day, but now the thought that this was a dream was slowly disintegrating in her mind. Suddenly, she remembered one of her favorite quotes Hotohori had once said. "The Priestess of Suzaku..." Katherine mumbled as she was backing up towards the door, "a girl who will appear from another world. Maybe she'll be able to save me from the loneliness I feel. Maybe she'll be able to love me as a person and not simply as the next emperor. Surely…" she rattled off, unable to stop herself.

His golden eyes glittering with confusion, Hotohori whispered, "What?" Only making out every other word, he looked at her nervously, not knowing what to make of it.

"Look..." she whispered, desperately trying to sort out her thoughts. "I mean, you've only known me for a couple days. This is all kinda rushed. Before we start anything serious,I think it would be better if we got to know each other. I need to make sure you love me for me and not the Priestess of Suzaku," Katherine said as she became teary-eyed. "I should go..." she whispered as she ran out as fast as she could, leaving Hotohori stranded.

oOo

The full moon shining through his window, Hotohori lay awake in his bed, contemplating over what Katherine had said a couple hours earlier. "_Could I have...do I? Do I treat her the same way I've been treated? Do I only look at her as the Priestess of Suzaku and not as Katherine? Have I been blinded by my dream?" _he thought as he tried to drift off to sleep. Hotohori decided that tomorrow he would apologize to her for his assumptions and ask for a fresh slate. Once that was decided,another problem absorbed his thoughts. _"How could she have known?" _he kept asking himself. He never told her about the night he decided he would marry the Priestess of Suzaku. He was sure of that, and he was the only one there when he said it. _"It must have been my imagination...she must have been mumbling something else..." _he kept telling himself until he fell asleep.

Hotohori was not the only one that lay awake that night; Katherine had problems of her own. "_How could I just say it so coldly to him? What if he stops liking me period? What if he now thinks I don't like him?" _Katherine thought as she buried her face into her pillow with frustration and sadness. "I'm so stupid!" she exclaimed out loud for no one to hear as she banged her head against the bed. _"Has he figured out that I know what's going to happen? Why did I say it out loud? It was almost as if my mind was talking not my mouth…Even if I was just mumbling it he must have picked up on a couple of words. Does he think I'm just one huge freak now?" _she asked herself repeatedly, obsessing over the very thought of waking up tomorrow to find out Hotohori wanted nothing to do with her.

oOo

Katherine woke up fairly early in the morning, considering that she didn't get much sleep the night before. She arose from her bed and saw that her clothes were now extremely worn out. She made a mental note to bring a ton of clothes the next time she entered the book with Christina. She opened her closet and saw dozens of kimonos and dresses before her. "Wow! I wonder when they did this!"she exclaimed as she picked out a violet-red kimono and put it on. "_Now I have to go find Hotohori," _she thought as she walked out of her room. She aimlessly wandered around the palace, watching her feet hit the flooring repeatedly. Suddenly, something blocked her path. "_Oh no!" _she thought as she looked at Nuriko's furious face.

"How could you!" Nuriko yelled at her, her face bright red with anger.

Rolling her eyes, Katherine asked, exasperated, "How could I what?" She was not in the mood to put up with Nuriko today, not with what happened the night before.

"Turn down the emperor's proposal!" Nuriko hollered, putting special emphasis on the word emperor.

"Oh...you heard?" she replied meekly, her form shrinking

"Gossip spreads fast, especially bad gossip…the whole palace knows!" Nuriko continued to yell for everyone to hear.

"Great..." Katherine quietly sighed.

Now in her own daydream, Nuriko continued, _"_At least now I can comfort His Highness..."

Right then, Tamahome casually strolled by the two. "Hi," he said to Katherine as he nodded once and continued on his way.

Glad to see one relatively friendly face, Katherine happily replied, "Hey!" Nuriko ran after him, forgetting about her daydream, and started fawning over the other male sei. Concluding they were off the sell her pepper spray at the market place, she turned her focus back to Hotohori, continuing down the palace hallway.

oOo

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" Tamahome hollered to the writhing crowd as he tried to get their attention. Half of the crowd turned their heads toward the young man standing on the top of a flight of stairs.

"Who's he? What's he selling? What's going on?" several peasants wondered.

"You've all heard of the Priestess of Suzaku right?" Tamahome asked them. Everyone else's heads turned. "The Priestess of Suzaku isn't from a neighboring country, or even a distant land! She's from a completely different world! Everything, her clothes, her possessions, are from this other world!" he continued. "I have a treat for you folks! With me I have one of the priestess's possessions!" he yelled as he held up the pepper spray.

"It has foreign writing on it," someone exclaimed.

"We'll start the bidding at one gold ryo!" Tamahome shouted.

"That's way too much!" someone replied.

Pointing to the small key chain of pepper spray, he exclaimed, "Not at all! There's only one of these in existence!"

"Wait a minute...!" one of the people in the crowd exclaimed. "Why would you have anything to do with her eminence?" he cynically asked as he looked at Tamahome's commoner outfit.

"Yeah!" another person yelled. "I heard she was staying with the emperor!"

"You could have just scribbled writing on there to pass it off as the real thing!" a different person shouted. The smile on Tamahome's face immediately disappeared.

"Are you saying that he's lying!" Nuriko yelled, grabbing one random peasant's collar.

Scrambling away from the insane girl, the peasant explained, "Well we don't know if it's true!"

The crowd began to press in closer and closer. "You're an imposter aren't you?" they questioned.

"Let's get him!" one person shouted as the mob obeyed. Tamahome and Nuriko looked around them and saw no escape. All they could see was a mob, hurling insults at them. Nuriko ducked down on her knees and shuffled out of the crowd, Tamahome following close behind. They ran into an alley and leaned against a wall, trying to catch their breath.

"Sorry to interrupt this love scene, but we got business to discuss with you," the two seishi heard someone say behind them. Nuriko and Tamahome turned around and saw a bunch of thugs.

"What business?" Tamahome questioned, utterly confused.

"You wanna work in this town, you gotta pay for it," one of the men explained, seeing their attempt to sell the pepper spray.

Hearing the courtier yelp, Tamahome turned to see one of the thugs had his arm aroundNuriko's neck. "I wouldn't be doing that if I were you..." Tamahome warned as he searched his pockets for the pepper spray, thinking that this would be the perfect opportunity to use it, but it had disappeared.

"What are you gonna do about it?" the leader questioned.

"Me?" Tamahome asked, now formulating a new plan. "You really shouldn't be worried about me," he continued with complete confidence. Suddenly they all heard a horrible scream of pain. They turned their heads to the man who had his arm around the girl's neck now lying on the ground in pain.

"Tell you what," the boss said, seeing her unique strength. "I'll pay you thirty gold ryo for her."

"How dare you insult me!" Tamahome started. "That's way too cheap!" Nuriko's jaw dropped and she punched Tamahome in the back of his head, causing him to fall to the ground.The courtierproceeded in beating down the rest of the thugs while Tamahome tried to stand up.

Dusting off her hands, Nuriko stated, "Let's get back to the palace before I have to hurt anyone else."

"I lost my stuff that Katherine gave me!" Tamahome complained as he frantically looked around for it.

"Who cares?" Nuriko asked sarcastically.

"I do!" Tamahome shouted back, jumping to his feet.

"Shut up!" Nuriko yelled while grabbing his collar causing him to loose his balance and fall to the ground once again. Still holding his collar, the courtier dragged the sei back to the palace.

oOo

About to give up hope, Katherine finally saw the back of Hotohori's head slowly walking down the hallway. "Hotohori...wait!" she called after him, trying to catch up with him.

Hotohori turned around to see her coming and stopped. "I'm truly sorry, but I have a conference to go to."

"Well, this won't take long...I just wanted to ap-"

"Please...can't we talk later?" Hotohori interrupted, for hearing her apologize would just make him feel guiltier. "I really have to go," he said as he turned around and walked towards the conference room.

"But wait!" Katherine shouted after him. Now completely out of breath and exhausted, she started to lose her balance. Grabbing the wall for support, she stared blankly down the hallway as the world around her started to spin. "Katherine!" was the last thing she heard before she collapsed on the floor.

**To be continued...**


	6. Episode 5: Fatal Connection

AN: Nyan Nyan: we would like to take the time to tell everyone to please review! Mrs. Tasuki: Well, since you're reading episode 5, you obviously either like our fanfic, or you think it's so bad that it's entertaining. So leave us reviews! N.N: And we don't care if u think it's bad cause that's your opinion! M.T: Well, technically, we don't care if you think it's bad or not, but we want to know WHY you think it's bad or not. N.N: Exactly. And of course that made complete sense to me because I speak Mrs. Tasukian, but for all of you dudes who are combuzzled... this is what she said: "we will respect your opinion if u think our fanfic sucks, but please tell us why you think that way." M.T and N.N: Thanks to all of those who have reviewed us!  
  
Episode 5 Fatal Connection  
  
By: Nyan Nyan and Mrs. Tasuki  
  
Christina got up from her bed and walked into the other room to watch TV. She opened the door and slowly stepped into the hallway. On the way out she started to feel dizzy. She leaned onto the wall for support and managed to make it to the couch. She stumbled and fainted. Christina's mother walked down the stairs and spotted her on the couch.  
  
"She's so lazy..." her mother muttered while walking into the laundry room.  
  
*  
  
"Will she be okay?" Hotohori asked in a nervous voice as he hovered over the doctor. He looked down upon his priestess with concerned eyes as she lay unconscious on the bed.  
  
"The priestess has suffered from exhaustion; becoming the priestess has put a great strain on her," the doctor replied as he stood from kneeling at the side of Katherine's bed.  
  
"Is there anything else we can do?" Hotohori said, sounding relieved.  
  
"The only thing we can let her do is let her rest," he said as he left the room.  
  
"We must get Katherine back to her world as soon as we can," Hotohori mumbled while he sat down next to Katherine on her bed.  
  
"'We'?" his advisors asked from where they were standing.  
  
"Katherine, Tamahome, Nuriko, and myself," he said without moving his eyes from her face.  
  
"Sire you mustn't!" his advisors said all at once.  
  
"You and the guards can handle the palace for a week or two," Hotohori continued as he gently stroked Katherine's hair.  
  
"Yes sire," the all said obediently.  
  
"You all may be excused," the emperor ordered while carelessly waved his hand, motioning for them to leave.  
  
As the advisors left Katherine slowly woke up. She saw Hotohori's face look down upon her. He seemed so worried; she smiled slightly, as if to tell him to quit looking so nervous. "Are you feeling better?" he asked as he smiled back.  
  
"Yeppers..." she replied in a weak voice as she laughed quietly. She took in a deep breath about to apologize for rejecting him the night before.  
  
"Before you say anything else," Hotohori interrupted, "I would like to apologize. I looked at you as the priestess, and for that I'm sorry. I would like to start over and pretend last night never happened," Hotohori said, hoping now that maybe it would take some stress off of Katherine too.  
  
"Okay... I think I'd like that," Katherine answered with a sigh.  
  
"You should really get some more rest," Hotohori said as he stood up, "and when you are feeling better tell me, because then we'll start heading off towards Taiitsukun's."  
  
Katherine sat up quickly. "'We'? As in you too?" she asked happily.  
  
"Yes, unless if you have a problem with that."  
  
"No! Of course not! I want you to come! As a matter of fact, I'm feeling right now. LET'S GO!" she continued merrily as she moved her legs over the side of the bed.  
  
"I don't think that's such a good idea, but lets aim for tomorrow," he said as he laughed slightly at her miraculous recover.  
  
"Okay. You're probably right," Katherine replied sadly.  
  
"Now try to get some rest," Hotohori said as he walked towards the door.  
  
"I will," she said as she lay back down.  
  
As Hotohori closed the door behind him, he leaned against it. "I had no idea that the priestess would be so cheerful and spastic," he thought to himself.  
  
*  
  
"Man! Once this is over I'll never be able to make fun of Miaka again... I just keep on making her mistakes over and over. That just makes me even more of a moron since I know what's gonna happen!" Katherine thought as she went back to sleep.  
  
*  
  
Katherine woke up and looked outside her window from her bed. She saw the sun was rising through her window. "Yes! It's early! I can go find Hotohori and maybe we can set out for Taiitsukun's today!" she thought as she climbed out of her bed as fast as she could, but nce she got her two feet on the floor she started to feel dizzy again. "I shouldn't have stood up so fast." she mumbled as she caught her balance. She went over to her closet and put on her old clothes that she had worn when she got sucked into the book. "Since, I'll be traveling today I better wear what I'm comfortable in." she thought as she got dressed. Katherine walked into the hallway in search of Hotohori. "The one bad thing about Hotohori is that I can never find him!" she thought. While was walking around she saw Tamahome off in the distance. "Maybe Tamahome knows where he is." As she approached him though she realized that something was troubling him. He was leaning against a rail as he looked out to the rising sun. "What's wrong?" she asked when she became with in hearing distance.  
  
Tamahome looked over to see her walking towards him. "The other day Nuriko and I went to the market place to sell your bottle-thing and we were attacked, since no one believed that I knew the priestess," he said with a sigh.  
  
"You don't seem hurt. I mean with Nuriko's and your powers."  
  
"That's not the problem," Tamahome interrupted, "someone took the pepper spray while I wasn't looking. And I never got my money!!!"  
  
Katherine rolled her eyes at her sei's 'problem'. She couldn't believe he was still fretting over the fact that he lost it; that must have happened a couple days ago! "Well, that's what you get for trying to sell a gift."  
  
"I guess so," Tamahome said reluctantly as he walked away from her still depressed.  
  
"Oh wait! Do you know where Hotohori is?" she asked; suddenly remember why she was talking to this idiot in the first place.  
  
"No," he replied sadly as he continued to walk sorrowfully down the hallway.  
  
Katherine continued her search for Hotohori; she passed by an open doorway and out of the corner of her eye she saw him looking over some papers. She knocked on the doorframe and entered, "Hi."  
  
Hotohori looked up from his papers. "Hello, I see you're feeling better," he said with a smile.  
  
"Yeah. I think I'm ready to start traveling," she said as she entered the office anxiously hoping he would say that they would leave soon.  
  
"Well that's good. I'll get someone to prepare the horses. We'll leave by noon."  
  
"That's great!!! I'll go get ready!" Katherine exclaimed as she started to run out the door.  
  
"Katherine," Hotohori said as she turned stopped in her tracks and turned around. "Try not to over-exert yourself," he warned with a slight smile, even though in his eyes she could tell that he was concerned.  
  
"Gotcha," Katherine said as she turned back around and started to walk out the door, but once she was in the hallway she continued running as fast as she could.  
  
*  
  
"Your majesty, perhaps the guard should accompany you," the advisors pleaded.  
  
"What kind of emperor would I be if I couldn't leave the palace walls alone?" he replied as he was attaching his bags to the horse's saddle.  
  
"But your majesty, no matter how casual your garments are, your elegance cannot be hidden."  
  
Hotohori prodded his advisor on the nose happily. "You speak the truth, so I shall not consider it flattery."  
  
Tamahome turned away, cringing from Hotohori's narcissism, while Katherine smiled joyfully.  
  
"I could do without his narcissism," Tamahome whispered to Katherine. Katherine just stood there in shock. She slowly turned to look at his face to see if he was actually serious.  
  
"You take away Hotohori's narcissism; you take away Hotohori! You evil, evil person!" she yelled as she poked him on the nose.  
  
"I was just joking! And by the way, what did I ever do to you?! It's like you've had a grudge against me since the first time we met!" Tamahome argued.  
  
"You... you... you...!" Katherine stuttered. This was her chance; her chance to let out all the rage she had inside of her against Tamahome, yet, she couldn't do it. She couldn't scream about how because of him Hotohori lost his true love, how he got so much credit while everyone else is ignored, how he was too unrealistically perfect. If she let her anger get the better of her they would all know; they would all know that she knew everything. Or they would just think she was insane. The only thing she could do was stand there, dumbfounded. She just screamed with all her might, from the frustration was building up inside of her and walked away.  
  
"Shall we go," Hotohori said to Nuriko, Tamahome, and Katherine, "Katherine, you'll be riding with me."  
  
Ke didn't want to be one of those damsels who couldn't even ride a horse on their own. "Hotohori, may I please have my own horse?" she asked as politely as possible.  
  
Hotohori turned around and looked at her to see if she was serious. When he was sure she actually was he contemplated over it for a second. "I didn't expect that for an answer. Do people in her world know how to ride horses?" he wondered. "Can you ride a horse?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah. Of course! I took horseback riding lessons for three years. I'm just not very good at galloping since it's been a while."  
  
*  
  
"It's getting dark," Nuriko said while looking around at their surroundings. She couldn't see more than a few feet in front of her. The trees were densely crowded together, making it even harder to see.  
  
"We'll have to camp out here tonight," Hotohori concluded.  
  
"Well, it's not like we have a choice," Tamahome mumbled. They tied their horses to a tree branch and to rest for the night.  
  
Once Katherine was sure everyone was asleep, she crept towards a clearing. "I think my fever's coming back," the priestess mumbled as she felt her forehead. She didn't want anyone to start worrying about her.  
  
"Katherine?" Nuriko questioned, suddenly coming out of nowhere.  
  
"Oh, hi Nuriko!" Katherine answered, startled by the sudden interruption.  
  
"You feel sick, right?" Nuriko continued, "Well let me tell you a little secret." Katherine just stared, knowing what was coming next, and let Nuriko talk. "There's a small spring inside this forest. They say it has the power to cure sickness. Why don't you take a dip? It might make you feel better," the courtier whispered.  
  
"Do you think I'm stupid Nuriko? What idiot would believe that?" Katherine angrily replied.  
  
"Well... I..." Nuriko stammered.  
  
"Oooh... a magical thpring? Doeth it give you the power to fly too?" Katherine commented with wide innocent eyes, mocking a naïve child with a lisp.  
  
Nuriko suddenly became confused from her priestess's statement. "Well you have to admit, it would make you feel a little better," Nuriko replied, continuing with her plan.  
  
"Okay... I'll go," Katherine said reluctantly, "But don't tell Tamahome or Hotohori," she warned as she scampered off into the forest.  
  
"Gotcha!" Nuriko called towards Katherine's retreating silhouette.  
  
*  
  
Nuriko grabbed Tamahome's leg and dragged him across the hard forest floor. Tamahome's head bashed against roots and stones, waking the sei up.  
  
"What's the big idea!?!?" Tamahome whined with three large bumps on his head.  
  
"I have a message from Katherine," Nuriko answered innocently. "'I'll be waiting for you at the spring in the forest.' That's all."  
  
"Why should I go?!" Tamahome shouted.  
  
"If you're a real man, you won't humiliate a woman!" Nuriko yelled while strangling Tamahome. "Bye bye," Nuriko added while walking away.  
  
*  
  
"There it is," Katherine said when she spotted the pond. It did look pretty, like a photograph you would see in one of those landscape coffee table books. The pale moonlight shone on the water, making it sparkle and look like it was almost glowing. Katherine took off her shoes, rolled up her jeans, and put her feet in the water. She knew she better not get undressed, because Tamahome would probably be coming soon. She heard some rustling behind the bushes. "Heya!" she said happily as she turned around to see Tamahome. She hated the silence. She wanted to talk to someone, and she didn't care who.  
  
"Hi," Tamahome said in an annoyed manner. "What's so important that it couldn't wait 'till morning?"  
  
"What are you talking about? Oh that! I'm sorry, Nuriko must have tricked you," Katherine said suddenly remembering the lie she told Tamahome told him in the series. She motioned him to sit by her. "So how's it goin'?" she asked as he sat down next to her.  
  
"Not so good...," Tamahome said while looking at the ground.  
  
"Why?" she asked, actually becoming interested.  
  
"Well with all this traveling, it's really cutting in on my business time."  
  
"Awwww. Well, it will all be over soon," she said while patting him on the back. "Why am I comforting him? This is Tamahome!" Katherine thought. She did feel bad for him, after all he was collecting the money for his adorable siblings. Once again Katherine heard a rustling noise behind he bushes. She turned around to see what it was this time; she was sure a second person didn't come in the series. What she saw something she least expected. Nuriko was standing there, with a smile of satisfaction on her face; behind her was Hotohori with a look of disbelief.  
  
"I'll... I'll leave you two alone," Hotohori said as his look of disbelief turned to one of hurt. He turned around and started to walk back to the campsite.  
  
It took Katherine a second or two to let everything sink in; then she noticed her hand on Tamahome's back. "Wait! It's not wh-" she said while quickly removing her hand.  
  
"Katherine. Just shut up," Nuriko interrupted, "How many lives do you have to ruin in one day? His Highness didn't need you anyways," Nuriko said just loud enough so that Hotohori could hear; then the courtier turned around and ran towards Hotohori.  
  
"I'm gonna kill him," Katherine threatened under her breath.  
  
"Him?" Tamahome asked, still confused about everything that had just happened.  
  
"I mean her, of course!" Katherine said quickly, trying to not let Nuriko's 'secret' slip, but then she realized it was because of 'her' that all of this happened. "I'm not going to defend him anymore!" she shouted as she stood up.  
  
"What are you talking about?" Tamahome asked, but Katherine had already stormed off in rage, leaving him stranded.  
  
*  
  
Christina cautiously opened her eyes as she rose from the couch. She glanced over at the TV and saw that episode five of Fushigi Yuugi was on. "I am way too obsessed if I can pinpoint an episode," she muttered jokingly.  
  
"I started getting a fever a while ago," Yui said in Japanese as the yellow subtitles floated at the bottom of the screen. Christina looked in the mirror, she looked flushed. Her pale skin contrasted openly with her freckles. The gears in her head started grinding.  
  
"My leg was bleeding, I fainted, I have a fever..." she said as she ticked off her fingers. She walked over to her stereo and turned the dial to 92.3, her favorite station. "I must be delusional," she thought as she turned the volume up, trying desperately to drown out her crazy idea. "This is 92.3, extreme radio!" the announcer said, "Next up, we'll be giving away tickets to Lollapalooza but first, Aerials, by System of a Down."  
  
She plopped back onto her favorite red couch. Red was her favorite color. She picked up her sticker-covered remote and started to fast forward through the lake scene. She wanted to get to episode 14, her favorite. Besides, she hated the mushy Miaka and Tamahome parts.  
  
*  
  
"I'm so full!" Katherine said as she lay back in her chair. They had decided to take a break from traveling and stopped a restaurant nearby.  
  
"Well I'd imagine so, you ate everything on your plate," Nuriko replied. Katherine just glared at her, mad about the night before, and walked out of the restaurant.  
  
"Hi!" Katherine said cheerfully as he ran up to where Hotohori was sitting. "May I sit here?" she asked as she bent over to see Hotohori's face looking at the landscape.  
  
"Sure," he replied without moving his eyes from the scenery.  
  
"What-cha doing?" she asked merrily as she sat down next to him.  
  
"Just looking at the scenery," he said with a sigh, "I do not normally have the time to view the landscape around me."  
  
"I understand how you feel. I have to go to a high school that I hate, just because my mother wants me to graduate from there. But I'm sure you've had it much harder," Katherine replied. Even though she hated her school beyond all belief she didn't want to dwell on that thought, especially since she already knew what Hotohori had to go through.  
  
"Your mother?" Hotohori asked, more to himself than to anyone else as he remember his mother. "I inherited the throne at fourteen when my father passed away. The power struggle that followed was horrendous. My mother was extremely ambitious and the methods she used... No, I can not say more. In any case, my mother made sure I became emperor. You could say I was simply her puppet, but then she passed away, and suddenly my world became virtually silent. I was surrounded by royal retainers, my own people, but I learned how lonely true solitude can be. I was like a bird in a cage." Right then Katherine saw three white birds flying towards the sun.  
  
"Things will get better, I promise," Katherine said as she rested her head on Hotohori's shoulder; she felt his muscle become tense.  
  
"I should go inside; I haven't eaten in a while," Hotohori replied awkwardly as he started to stand up.  
  
"No, wait," Katherine knew this would be the perfect time to explain herself. She quickly stood up, so then there wouldn't be such a height difference between herself and the emperor. "Tamahome and I are just fr-... fr-fr-fri-." she stuttered."I just can't admit out loud that we have become friends!" she thought to herself as she struggled over the seven letter word. She thought for a why to explain her completely platonic, if even that, relationship with Tamahome with out using the word 'friends'. "We are less than boyfriend and girlfriend, but we are more than acquaintances."  
  
"You mean friends?" Hotohori asked, slightly confused by her stuttering.  
  
"Yes, that," she said with a sigh as she plopped back down on the ground.  
  
"I'm so glad," he replied with a sigh he sat back down and put his arm around Katherine. They both heard something cracking behind them and a thud. It was no surprise to Katherine to see Nuriko frantically trying to get out of Tamahome's grip, so then she could dart over to Katherine and clobber her.  
  
"What could have made Nuriko so upset?" Hotohori asked, clueless.  
  
*  
  
"The Priestess of Suzaku, you are attempting to reach my home. But you will not arrive so easily! Shall we see if they can handle a test?" a voice, surrounded by mirrors, asked slyly. The mirror in front of the mysterious object floated up into the sky.  
  
*  
  
"Katherine, please don't walk so fast, you might over-exert yourself," Hotohori warned her. They started walking through an extremely dense forest several minutes ago, causing the four of them to dismount their horses.  
  
"I don't care if I over-exert myself. I just don't want to be around Nuriko; I'm scared of what I might say to her if I am," Katherine replied, still furious with her.  
  
"But we lost them in the fog," he said concerned as he looked behind him. He stopped for a second to consider something. "Don't you think something's odd?"  
  
"Like what?" she asked as she turned around.  
  
"This much fog at noon is unnatural."  
  
"You have a point. Maybe we should go back and find them," Katherine said while remembering that this was when Miaka got sucked into the mirror. They turned around and retraced their steps for a couple minutes. "Look! I think I see them!" Katherine shouted. They walked towards Tamahome and Nuriko, who were standing and waving their arms. Katherine was the first one to reach them. She felt something weird pass through her body and when she looked around the area had transformed into a small black room. "Hotohori! Stop!" she shouted as quickly as she could, but he was already behind her looking around bewildered.  
  
"What just happened?" he asked as he looked around that dark room.  
  
"Trust me. You don't want to know," Katherine mumbled.  
  
To be continued... 


	7. Episode 6: Manifestation of Doubt

Author's Note: We would like to take this time to give our undying gratitude to Emi. She has saved us hours of work from this fanfic by editing episodes 5, 6, and 7 and telling us exactly what to change. THANK YOU SO MUCH EMI!  
  
AN2: Someone in a review pointed out to me that Katherine is a lot like Miaka. And, yes, I must say that currently she is acting quite a bit like her. I would l like to use this Author Note to point out that Katherine does have qualities that are completely unlike Miaka's, even though at this point in the story it's not apparent. You will discover that Katherine is a lot more spontaneous and is not afraid to act like she does come from another world. (This becomes apparent in episode 8 and extremely obvious in episode 12) When Miaka was in the book she did nothing out of the ordinary, whereas Katherine will not be afraid to act like her regular everyday self. She will do things that normal teenagers do in this world, which will hopefully make the fanfic more interesting and funny.  
  
Episode 6: Manifestation of Doubt  
  
By: Mrs. Tasuki and Nyan Nyan  
  
"Welcome to the other side of the mirror," one of the silhouettes said as it stepped out into the light. The figure turned out to be someone who could have easily passed off as Katherine's twin.  
  
"And I thought I was the only one that looked this good," the second silhouette said. When it stepped out next to Katherine's it was obvious that it was a copy of Hotohori with an evil smirk on his face.  
  
"Your reflection even has your narcissism," Katherine said in shock, but Hotohori ignored her comment and drew his sword.  
  
"I wouldn't do that if I were you. You might hurt yourself," Hotohori's reflection warned.  
  
"I demand an explanation!" Hotohori replied in his most commanding voice.  
  
"I thought you of all people would recognize your reflection when you saw it," his imposter answered.  
  
"We are your reflections in the mirror. We are the very image of you," Katherine's reflection explained. "Now get out of our way!"  
  
"What makes you think we are just going to let you walk right out of here?" Katherine asked sarcastically.  
  
"This..." Hotohori's reflection answered as he grabbed his sword and quickly whacked Katherine upside the head with the flat end of it. The priestess fell to the floor from the blow.  
  
"Katherine!" Hotohori shouted as he ran over to her to see if she was okay. Meanwhile the reflections walked out of the mirror with ease.  
  
"See ya!" the sadistic priestess said with a sneer as she waved her hand once and stepped out of the mirror.  
  
"Katherine can you hear me?" Hotohori worriedly asked as he kneeled beside her.  
  
"Ow... my head..." Katherine muttered. Hotohori helped Katherine stand up; she stood there for a second looking blankly at the floor, catching her balance.  
  
"Do you need to sit back down?"  
  
"No... I'm fine," she replied with a sigh.  
  
A mysterious voice came from the ceiling, "Just try to break my spell, Katherine, if you really are the Priestess of Suzaku."  
  
"Who are you?!" Hotohori shouted back, but there was no reply.  
  
"Hotohori, come over here," Katherine said as she looked through the large circular sheet of glass on one of the walls. Hotohori walked over and stood beside her.  
  
*  
  
Nuriko and Tamahome finally saw Katherine, who had a large mirror hanging from her right arm, and Hotohori walking out of the fog. "It took them long enough to find us," Nuriko mumbled. Tamahome saw Katherine running towards her.  
  
"There you are! I missed you," Katherine said as she hugged Tamahome tightly.  
  
"Katherine?" Tamahome asked, quite puzzled. "This has got to be some kind of joke..." he thought to himself.  
  
"I love you," Katherine whispered; her lips lightly brushing against Tamahome's ear.  
  
*  
  
Hotohori was holding Katherine back at her waist with all of his strength. Her arms were trying desperately to get out of his hold so she could hurt her reflection... badly. "I'm gonna kill her!!!" Katherine shouted.  
  
"Katherine, please, calm yourself."  
  
"But I'm being disloyal to you! And worst of all, the guy I'm doing it with is TAMAHOME!"  
  
"I know it's not you!"  
  
"But. let go of me! I want to hurt her!" she yelled, still trying with all of her might trying to get out of his hold.  
  
"Even if I let you go there's nothing you can do," he replied. Katherine stopped struggling, realizing that he had a point, and Hotohori let go of her. She turned around to see his face; he put on a fake smile hoping that it would cheer her up. She glanced down at her feet, ashamed of the way she acted, but then she noticed something.  
  
"Hotohori! Your sword! Use it to break the glass!" She shouted happily.  
  
"Why didn't I think of this before?" he wondered as he took his sword out of his sheath. He charged at the mirror, and, with all of his might and energy, slashed at the glass. He landed on his knee and looked up to see if the mirror had broken.  
  
"Nothing..." Katherine said disappointedly as she looked at the unmarked glass. "You just want me to hurt myself, don't you?!" she shouted up towards the endless black sky. She knew of only one way for them to get out of the mirror.  
  
*  
  
Hotohori walked over to Nuriko and embraced her tightly; she melted in his arms. "Nuriko, where were you? I was worried sick about you," Hotohori inquired, but she was too much in awe to answer. Katherine stopped hugging Tamahome and turned to them.  
  
"Hotohori-sama, I wouldn't do that if I were you. After all, Nuriko is a man," she pointed out in an uncaring manner.  
  
"What are you talking about?" Hotohori said as he backed away from Nuriko.  
  
"You're joking right?" Tamahome asked, but when he saw the look of shock on Nuriko's face he knew that it was true.  
  
Nuriko just slowly backed away in disbelief, as if his world around him was crumbling. "H-how did you know?" he muttered. Before Katherine could answer he turned around and ran off into the forest.  
  
"Wow, there's another man as beautiful as I," Hotohori muttered and never gave a second thought to the fact that he was about to kiss a man.  
  
Katherine put her arms around Tamahome's neck and looked deeply into his eyes. "Tamahome," she said in a soft, gentle whisper, "let's forget about my friend, whatever her name is, I just want to be here with you." She leaned over to his face and was about to kiss him, but he took a step back just in time.  
  
"Katherine, what's going on?" he asked in a serious tone. "And Hotohori, don't you have a problem with this?"  
  
"No, not at all," Hotohori said, appalled at the idea. "This girl is just an annoyance to me; I wish Suzaku had chosen someone who actually had respect for the emperor."  
  
"You see Tamahome? There is no one standing in our way. Please tell me you love me too," Katherine said as she walked slowly over to him and kissed him on the lips.  
  
*  
  
"Fine!" the real Katherine shouted towards the ceiling, now exasperated and disturbed, "I'll do it! Just don't make me watch any more!"  
  
She tried to recall every possible detail of episode six, knowing that if she forgot something the results could be fatal. First, Miaka broke part of a plate from the buffet Taiitsukun set up for her. Then, she stabbed herself in the chest, hoping that it would cause the reflection to become wounded too. When her reflection's life force was weakened it caused the spell she had over Hotohori and Tamahome to disappear. There was only one problem. Miaka was in the mirror alone, so there was only one imposter amongst the seishi. If she wounded Katherine Hotohori's reflection could still take away Tamahome's powers, but she didn't have much of a choice. She had to do something fast, or else the reflections would win their battle.  
  
She took a deep breath and turned to Hotohori, who was staring at her, quite confused. "Hotohori, can I please see your sword? I have an idea of how to get us out of here."  
  
*  
  
"Who are you and what have you done to Katherine?" Tamahome asked as he backed away slowly.  
  
"She's right under your nose. I am Katherine; I am her reflection. And this is Hotohori's reflection, my accomplice," she said while pointing to Hotohori.  
  
"What do I look like an idiot?" Tamahome said as he put up his fists, "Katherine and Hotohori-sama would never act as uncaring and cruel as you two."  
  
"Don't even try to fight us, we have this," Katherine's reflection said with a sly smile has she held up the mirror.  
  
"Oh and may I ask what the hell a mirror is going to do?" Tamahome replied sarcastically.  
  
"Watch and learn," Hotohori's reflection answered; just then strange bright lightning came out of the mirror and surrounded Tamahome. He fell to the ground in pain as the lightning slowly drained all of the energy in his body.  
  
"Katherine and Hotohori are inside this very mirror, watching you in all of your pain. You'd give your life to protect Katherine, right? So it only makes sense that I should take all of your power from you. After all, I am Katherine," the fake priestess said as she laughed sadistically.  
  
*  
  
Katherine and Hotohori once again heard the strange voice from above. "Try to save him if you can, Priestess of Suzaku," it said with distaste.  
  
"I guess that's my cue," Katherine thought as she took Hotohori's sword. "Forgive me Hotohori..." she took a deep breath and plunged the sword into her left arm. The pain shot through her whole body. It was as if it was in slow motion, the bone shattering, Hotohori trying desperately to get her to stop, the pain itself. She fell to the floor and slid the sword out of her arm. The sword went all the way through it, she was sure of it, she could barely feel her arm any more, as if it damaged too many nerves. The only thing that she could feel was the blood slowly flowing out of her arm and onto the floor. She struggled to grab the sword and she raised it once more.  
  
"Katherine... stop!" Hotohori shouted. He was about to take the sword out of her hand, but he was a second too late. She held the sword in her right hand thrust it into her thigh. He kneeled next to her and, as gently as he could, pulled the sword out from her thigh and threw it to the side. "Katherine what are you doing?!" he said as his eyes filled with worry. He lifted up her head and let it rest on his arm.  
  
Katherine started to breathe heavily. "Look outside," she replied as she winced in pain. Hotohori turned his head to see green liquid flowing out of her reflection's left arm and right thigh.  
  
*  
  
Katherine's imposter fell to her knees and dropped the mirror. "Ow! What's happening?!" she exclaimed as she clutched her arm. Strange green liquid started to seep through her fingers.  
  
"Can't you do anything right?!" Hotohori's reflection asked in a cold tone as he picked up the mirror. "I guess I have to do everything myself," he said as he continued to steal Tamahome's strength.  
  
*  
  
"Did it work?" Katherine asked as she gasped for breath.  
  
"Katherine please don't talk..." Hotohori said as he tore a strip of white cloth from his sleeve.  
  
"No... Hotohori, you can't heal me, if you do then my reflection will be healed too. Look to see if they are defeated yet."  
  
*  
  
"I won't lose!" Tamahome muttered under his breath.  
  
"Help me!" Katherine's reflection ordered Hotohori's imposter, "You're my sei, obey me!"  
  
"I don't care whether or not you live," Hotohori's reflection replied with a sneer. Suddenly, the two demons were annihilated when a gigantic boulder fell from the sky and landed on top of them. Nuriko was standing proudly on top of the cliff above Tamahome and the boulder.  
  
"I thought something seemed funny," Nuriko stated as he dusted his hands off.  
  
"N-Nu-Nuriko..." Tamahome stuttered in shock.  
  
Nuriko gracefully leaped off the cliff and landed near where Tamahome was kneeling on the ground. Tamahome tried vainly to stand. "Here, let me help you," Nuriko said as he grabbed Tamahome's collar and lifted him off the ground.  
  
"Nuriko... look..." Tamahome said as he pointed to Hotohori and Katherine's emerging silhouettes. Hotohori was kneeling over Katherine's wounded body.  
  
"Katherine! Wake up!" Hotohori desperately shouted as Nuriko and Tamahome rushed over to their priestess and emperor.  
  
"What happened?" Tamahome simply asked.  
  
"She won't answer," Hotohori sadly replied, "Someone help me bandage her wounds!" he anxiously ordered the two other sei.  
  
Tamahome and Hotohori blankly looked at Katherine, unsure of what to do. "Oh, get out of my way!" Nuriko yelled as he pushed Tamahome and Hotohori to the side. "Men are hopeless," he muttered under his breath.  
  
"Wait... You're a man too!" Tamahome commented.  
  
"Yes, but I have the soul of a woman," Nuriko replied as he looked at Katherine's wounded arm. "These gashes are horrible," Nuriko muttered, "You got yourself pretty good this time." Nuriko engaged himself with tearing cloth from his sleeves as he tried to stop the flow of blood. He tore off another cloth and wrapped it around her pant leg.  
  
After a few seconds, a look of realization came to Tamahome's face. "The fake Katherine was bleeding from the same spots... did she do that to save us?" Tamahome gasped. Hotohori was too nervous watching Nuriko to answer, but Tamahome knew it was true.  
  
"Well, she's still alive, but not doing very good..." Nuriko added as he stood up and surveyed his work.  
  
"She's getting paler," Hotohori mumbled becoming more and more scared. "Nuriko!" he frantically shouted, "Is there anything we can do!?"  
  
"If we could just give her blood," Nuriko commented, "But we can't... we don't have any instruments to operate."  
  
*  
  
"Where am I?" Katherine asked as she surveyed a large, dark area with no end in sight. A field of white lilies lay ahead of her, glowing like stars. She turned around and saw someone she hadn't seen in a long time. Christina was sitting in a chair off in the distance. Katherine started walking towards her friend, but she didn't get any nearer.  
  
"Christina! I'm over here!" Katherine called; Christina didn't even glance over. Katherine started running towards her friend. "I've been looking for you! I got sucked into the book! I even met Hotohori!" She vainly yelled. "Christina! Why are you ignoring me?" Katherine suddenly stopped running. She hadn't gotten any closer than where she started. Christina suddenly fell to the ground and didn't get up; Katherine noticed blood slowly flowing from her arm and leg.  
  
She looked at her wrist and saw her red bracelet. "Our friendship bracelets," Katherine gasped. "That's our connection! Whatever happens to me happens to Christina..." she stated.  
  
"Katherine..." a voice off in the distance called, "Katherine, wake up!"  
  
"Hotohori?" she questioned as she turned around, half expecting to see him standing there.  
  
*  
  
"The blood won't stop," Nuriko commented sorrowfully.  
  
"If she needs blood..." Hotohori started while taking his sword out of his sheath, "You can have all the blood in my body! I'll exchange my life for yours!" He shouted as he slit his wrist and his blood fell to the ground and onto Katherine's wounds.  
  
"Just don't die!" Tamahome yelled. Katherine slowly opened her eyes and looked around.  
  
"Hotohori. Nuriko. Tamahome." Katherine said as she looked at their distraught faces.  
  
"We were worried about you, you jerk!" Tamahome yelled.  
  
"I'm so glad you're alright!" Hotohori said as he hugged Katherine tightly.  
  
"I never thought for a second that an idiot like you would actually die," Nuriko teased.  
  
"Just shut up Nuriko," Katherine replied. Then the scenery melted into an area covered in tall mountains with purple bubbles floating around aimlessly.  
  
"What the-" Tamahome and Nuriko stuttered.  
  
"Your feelings towards one another are now clear," a scratchy voice commented.  
  
"That's the voice from the mirror," Hotohori stated in disbelief.  
  
"You have arrived at the land of my home," the voice continued.  
  
"Is this Mount Taikyoku?" Nuriko asked.  
  
An odd-shaped shadow appeared in front of the seishi and Katherine. "Welcome Katherine," the mysterious shape said, "I shall now inform you and your three celestial warriors of the method to return to your world."  
  
To be continued... 


	8. Episode 7: Priestesses' Reunion

Author's Note: We would like to dedicate this episode to Metajoker. We are such idiots! We forgot to put in about what happened to Christina while she was bleeding! OOPS! Luckily, Metajoker reminded us. THANKS! ~Nyan Nyan and Mrs. Tasuki~  
  
Episode 7:  
  
Priestesses' Reunion  
  
By: Nyan Nyan and Mrs. Tasuki  
  
When Christina came to, she was lying on the cold tile floor of her basement. Her couch loomed above her; she figured that she had fallen off of the couch. But she didn't know why. She slowly got to her feet and sat down on the red sofa.  
  
"This has got to be the weirdest fuckin' day I've ever been through. And that includes the time that Ryan dressed up like a leprechaun and chased me through the Ireland part of Busch Gardens," she said to herself. There was a crimson stain on the thigh of her pants, and it looked like blood. She started to roll up her pant leg when her arm started to hurt. She looked down and noticed a huge wound in her arm. It was beginning to scab over, but she couldn't remember ever stabbing herself with anything that would leave a mark like that. "Unless I sleep self-mutilate myself, I can't think of how that got there," she stated. She gingerly rolled up the rest of her pant leg with her right hand, and gasped when she saw another, equally large gash.  
  
"What is this, the twilight zone?" she said to herself sarcastically. She glanced up at the television; it was still playing Fushigi Yuugi. "Episode 7," she thought as she saw Taiitsukun guiding Miaka and the rest of the seishi to her palace. Rocky mountains passed by below them. Christina ignored the T.V.; she was still trying to figure out what happened to her.  
  
"Wait a second," she thought, "Only two episodes have passed... all this happened in an hour? My leg hurting, the fever, I think I fainted, and then my leg and arm getting sliced open...?"  
  
She looked at the screen again. All of her wounds seemed to be a lot like the ones on Fushigi Yuugi, and in the same order too.  
  
"I must be delirious," she thought to herself, she had to be. Why would she get injuries just like the ones Yui and Miaka received? "Wait," she told herself, "Miaka stabbed herself in the chest, not on her arm and leg, but why is this happening to me?"  
  
*  
  
The most disgusting thing the seishi had ever seen appeared before them. It looked like an old lady, but she must have been about a million years old, considering how many wrinkles were jammed onto her face. Her white hair was intricately done up with a large amount of combs. She was floating in the air and what seemed like a mass of ribbons was surrounding her body.  
  
"AHHHH!!! You really ARE ugly!" Katherine screamed as she looked away in revulsion.  
  
"So you're really Taiitsukun?" Nuriko asked doubtfully.  
  
"That's right; I'm the ruler of this world... Hotohori! How dare you turn away?!" Taiitsukun shouted, seeing the emperor covering his eyes with his left hand.  
  
"I can not bear ugliness..." Hotohori replied with an air of disgust.  
  
"Be that as it may, Katherine and Hotohori, you're both badly wounded," Taiitsukun said. "I was testing to see how much you cared for each other, but I never expected this."  
  
"Testing?" Hotohori asked, starting to raise his voice.  
  
"Hotohori, calm down," Katherine warned. She didn't want him to kill her only connection to get back home.  
  
"Nothing else to be done, I'll take you to my palace. We'll talk there," Taiitsukun commanded. A red carpet appeared below Katherine and her seishi's feet. They were quickly lifted into the air and rushed towards the palace.  
  
"We won't drop to a bloody death, we won't drop to a bloody death," Nuriko chanted over and over as Katherine leaned over the edge of the carpet, watching the scenery fly by.  
  
"Only chosen ones can come or even see this mountain," Taiitsukun explained. "Those with evil intentions will only see a desolate wasteland."  
  
The view below was no less than breathtaking. Craggy cliffs jutted up into the sky and crystal clear waterfalls drifted down the cliff and mountain sides. Pink bubbles floated through the air. A palace was sitting atop the tallest peak, and the carpet flew down to its entrance. When they stepped off of the Nuriko looked like he was never so relieved to be on the ground. Katherine thought he was going to fall down on his knees and kiss the tile from sheer appreciation for being out of the air. Katherine looked around and saw a large room, with more of the little pink bubbles floating around.  
  
"Now then," Taiitsukun started, "First we have to heal your wounds. Nyan Nyan!" the hag shouted. The pink bubbles that were floating in the air popped, and little green-haired girls fell gracefully from the air.  
  
They ran around the seishi and Katherine yelling, "Fix! Fix! Heal! Heal!" and began to heal their wounds. One ran up to Nuriko and said, "I'll fix you too!"  
  
"Me? I'm not wounded," Nuriko told her.  
  
"I'll fix your perversion!" the Nyan Nyan replied and was answered with a blow that sent her flying through the roof.  
  
"There! All done!" Katherine's Nyan Nyan stated proudly as she rolled Katherine's sleeve and pant leg back down.  
  
"Thank you!" Katherine gushed as she grabbed the diminutive girl and held her in a tight hug. The Nyan Nyan started to struggle from lack of air after a minute, and Katherine quickly set her down. "Sorry," Katherine apologized as the girl tried to catch her breath.  
  
"In your present condition, you'll never make it back to your world in one piece," Taiitsukun told Katherine.  
  
"But I have to get my friend!" Katherine explained. "We made a deal! I have to get back!"  
  
"You don't have one ounce of strength," Taiitsukun argued.  
  
"Then please, let her have my blood," Hotohori suggested.  
  
"Mine too," Tamahome said.  
  
"And me," Nuriko added.  
  
"No! You can't! You're too weak as it is!" Katherine pointed out. She already knew that the offer would be made, but was still shocked at their selflessness.  
  
"Very well," Taiitsukun said as bubbles encircled Katherine and her seishi.  
  
"What's going on?" Nuriko asked.  
  
"Tamahome, Nuriko, Hotohori. I will now use my will to pass your blood from your bubbles into Katherine's wound and into her body." Taiitsukun explained. "It will be painful. Bear it."  
  
"Don't bother, I'm fine!" Katherine yelled. "We might have different blood types!" She already knew what would happen, but it still felt weird having them do something so noble for her.  
  
"I'll fix that," Taiitsukun smirked.  
  
Katherine's wounds opened up and she flinched in pain. Tamahome and Nuriko suddenly received cuts on their chests and Hotohori's wound reopened. Katherine looked down at herself and saw her clothes disappearing. Her clothes reappeared on the floor below her, leaving Katherine only wearing her underwear and bra. She struggled to cover herself up. Katherine watched in shock as her companions' blood flowed into her leg and arm. She felt their blood intermingle with her own and felt them become a part of her. The bubbles popped and they all fell to the floor.  
  
"Tamahome! Nuriko! Hotohori! Are you okay?" Katherine asked as she ran up to each of them, not caring that she was wearing practically nothing.  
  
"Yeah, I think so," Tamahome answered weakly with a half-joking attitude.  
  
"I'm fine," Nuriko added.  
  
"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Katherine cried out spastically.  
  
"Now that Katherine has been strengthened, I'll tell you how to return," Taiitsukun said. "Katherine, remember that you owe your life to Tamahome, Hotohori, and Nuriko."  
  
"But we also owe our lives to her," Nuriko pointed out. Taiitsukun stayed silent and Katherine started to hurriedly put her clothes back on.  
  
"Listen Katherine, you've stayed in this world too long," Taiitsukun said. "Therefore, you cannot return by simply finding an opening, like you did before. However, there are two things that connect you to the other world and will allow you to return. The first is something that is identical here and there."  
  
"My friendship bracelet," Katherine said with a sigh, as she looked at the red bracelet dangling from her wrist. Her mind flew back to how Christina was doing. She felt terrible for putting her friend through all of this; hopefully the wounds weren't as severe to her as they were to Katherine.  
  
"It must connect with someone who owns the identical thing. The second connection is a strong will and a strong bond. If the circumstances were normal and all seven celestial warriors were present, this would be easy. But all of you are wounded and the amount of spiritual energy needed is enormous." Taiitsukun continued.  
  
"We can do it," Tamahome said fearlessly.  
  
"I'm sure we can return her home," Hotohori added.  
  
"Don't you worry about a thing," Nuriko finished.  
  
"But you have to promise to come back, or I won't have anyone to laugh at," Tamahome joked. Hotohori drew Katherine over to the side, out of everyone else's earshot. Katherine could see Tamahome and Nuriko's curious faces trying to see over Hotohori's shoulder, eyeing them suspiciously.  
  
"I don't know what I would do without you, Katherine, please come back soon." Hotohori confessed.  
  
"Are we ready to commence? Concentrate your energy on Katherine." Taiitsukun instructed. "Katherine, picture your world in your mind and concentrate on the image."  
  
They all sat kneeling around her, sending their life force into her. Katherine pictured her home, her family, and her friends. She felt a flash of heat run through her body. It was an odd feeling, almost as though something was trying to pull her through the air. When she opened her eyes she found herself back in the Important Documents Reference Room, she saw everything in a tint of red that slowly faded away. She stood up cautiously and gave herself a moment to collect her thoughts. "Okay, the first thing I need to do is call Joan, that is, if she isn't here looking frantically for me already," she mumbled as she walked out of the room. As she walked down the stairs, to the main lobby, she passed an elderly lady, who scanned Katherine from head to toe, just shook her head and walked away. "What's her problem?" Katherine wondered. It was then that she noticed her clothes, torn, dirty, with blood stains on sleeve and pant leg. "Oh well, I have bigger things to worry about..." she mumbled as she reached the desk. "May I please use the phone?" Katherine asked the librarian, who was typing something into the computer.  
  
"Sure," the librarian absentmindedly said, not bothering to move her eyes from the computer. "Press nine and then punch in your number," she said in an overly-polite voice.  
  
Katherine picked up the phone and dialed the number to her sister's cell phone as quickly as she could.  
  
"Hello?" Joan said through the receiver.  
  
"Hi! Can you please pick me up right away?"  
  
"Can't you wait just one more hour?"  
  
"No, I can't! Please please please please please! This is REALLY important," Katherine begged, becoming desperate.  
  
"What's soooo important that you can't wait one more hour?" Joan replied sarcastically.  
  
"I... I can't tell you... but I HAVE to get over to Christina's!" Katherine yelled, now becoming agitated.  
  
"If you wait one more hour I'll drive you over to her house myself," Joan said, turning off her cell phone.  
  
"Joan? Joan?!" Katherine screamed into the phone for only the dial tone to hear; then she slammed the phone into the receiver. The librarian glared up from behind the desk, obviously angered by the noise. "What am I supposed to do for an hour?" she thought as she walked away from the main desk ignoring the glare the librarian was giving her.  
  
*  
  
An hour later Joan drove into the library parking lot to find Katherine sitting on the curb waiting for her. As she drove closer she saw that her sister's clothes were torn with large bloodstains on them, yet Katherine did not seem hurt. "What happened to you?!" she asked, shocked, she knew her sister was not the fighting type, unlike herself, in Tae Kwon Do class her favorite part was sparring, while her sister's had always been learning new katas. But Katherine just ignored her and climbed into the passenger seat.  
  
"I'll explain later. Just please get to Christina's and hurry!"  
  
Joan couldn't protest, since she had already promised that she would drive her there. "Okay..." she answered, worried that maybe Katherine had gotten into a horrible fight. It was then she noticed an old book resting on Katherine's lap. "What's that?" she asked out of curiosity.  
  
"Just a book I checked out for my research project," Katherine lied. She knew her sister wouldn't believe her if she told the truth.  
  
Joan could tell she was lying; Katherine had always been a horrible liar, but there was something about the way she said it... Joan knew that there was nothing she could say or do to get her sister to tell the truth.  
  
*  
  
They pulled into Christina's driveway. Katherine jumped out of the car as quickly as she could, even before the car came to complete stop. "I'll be back in about twenty minutes!" she yelled as she ran down the hill to Christina's back yard.  
  
"I wonder why she didn't use the front door like a normal person," Joan mumbled as she turned on the car radio.  
  
*  
  
Katherine knew that Christina would most likely be in the basement; since her house was built on a hill there was a door outside that led right to the basement. Katherine knocked on the door softly, hoping that Christina would be the one to answer it.  
  
"Who in the world would knock on that door?" Christina wondered as she stood up and walked over to answer it. She opened the door to find her best friend, Katherine, standing there. "Katherine, is that really you?" she asked as she stared at Katherine's torn clothes and knotted hair.  
  
"Who else would I be?" Katherine answered as she walked inside.  
  
"I dunno... You could have been Leatherface, and I could have opened the door and got ripped up by a chainsaw. Or you could have been leprechaun, and you could have kidnapped me and made me eat Lucky Charms for all eternity, or-"  
  
"I need to talk to you!" Katherine said anxiously, changing the subject.  
  
"About what?" she asked, her eyebrow lifted up in question.  
  
"About Fushigi Yuugi."  
  
"What is so important that you have to break into my house?" Christina asked, not believing that her friend invited herself over without even asking.  
  
"The fact that I got sucked into the book."  
  
"What are you on?" Christina asked while chuckling, believing that Katherine's statement was a joke.  
  
"Nothing! I'm serious!"  
  
"Katherine!" she said now, now worried that her friend had gone insane.  
  
"What do I have to do to prove it to you?!" Katherine asked, now becoming agitated. She didn't have time to go through the whole story. Time passed faster in the book, and many months had likely passed as Katherine remained outside of it?  
  
"Where's the proof then? Why don't you show me Hotohori's Chinese take-out box?" Christina asked sarcastically, referring to the little hat Hotohori wore on top of his head. She knew that Katherine hated it and always joked about how she was going to steal it, so then he wouldn't be able to wear it anymore.  
  
"I don't have it! He wasn't wearing it at the time."  
  
"You're kidding, right?"  
  
"Fine then, don't believe me. But what happened to you today?" Katherine knew that Christina must have had an awfully weird day if everything that happened to her over the month or two she had spent in the book happened to her best friend also.  
  
"Well, my leg started to bleed, then I fainted, then my arm and leg started to bleed again."  
  
"Well, MY leg was almost broken from the falling pagoda, I fainted from exhaustion, and I stabbed myself in the arm and leg when I was trapped inside the mirror." Christina just stood there in silence. "C'mon! We have to pack!" Katherine said, realizing precious time was being wasted.  
  
"You know, I think you're insane!"  
  
"I don't care! Just trust me!" Katherine replied as she grabbed Christina's arm and dragged her to where her room was.  
  
*  
  
"I wonder what is taking them so long," Joan mumbled as she looked at her watch. When she looked up she saw Katherine and Christina coming up the hill carrying what must have been four or five boxes, suitcases, duffle bags, and Rubbermaid bins filled with who knows what.  
  
"What in the world?" Joan wondered as they approached the car. Christina and Katherine put the boxes in the car and climbed into the back seat. Joan turned around to see a look of eagerness on Katherine's face, while Christina was just looking at her best friend as if she had gone insane. "Katherine, what's going on?" Joan asked in a serious tone.  
  
"I promise I'll tell you once we get to our house."  
  
"Okay..." Joan answered, becoming more and more worried. Ten minutes later they reached Katherine's and Joan's house.  
  
"Wait right here," Katherine said to both of them as she ran into the house as quickly as she could. Less than fifteen minutes later she came back out with even more boxes and bags. "C'mon!" she yelled as she opened the trunk to take out Christina's stuff, "we have to hurry!"  
  
Joan stepped out of the car and approached Katherine cautiously. "Katherine..." she said, ever so gently, as she put her hand on her little sister's shoulder.  
  
Even though Joan said only one word, her body language told it all. "YOU TOLD HER!!!" Katherine yelled at Christina, who was standing behind Joan looking at the ground. Katherine took a step back and just chuckled. "I know you guys think I'm nuts... frankly I think I'm nuts too, but... but just give me one chance to prove myself."  
  
"Look! Katherine!" Joan said, about to give her some tough love.  
  
"One chance! That's all I'm asking for!" Katherine interrupted.  
  
Before Joan could say, "No!" Christina spoke up and said, "Fine..."  
  
Joan just gave her sister's friend a look of shock. "Christina! You can't actually believe that-"  
  
"OF COURSE NOT!" she interrupted, "but what's one chance gonna hurt? She's already as insane as they come."  
  
Katherine's eyes widened, "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" she said to Christina, even though Christina had just insulted her, she honestly didn't care. "You won't regret it!" she continued. "Now, Joan, you stand back! Oh wait! Lemme get the book!" Katherine reached into the passenger seat, from the window of the car. She ran back as fast as she could, even though they were only a few yards away, and came to a sudden stop. "Christina, touch as many boxes and bags as you can!"  
  
Christina gave her a look of doubt, but did as she was instructed to do so.  
  
Katherine touched the two boxes Christina didn't reach, and closed her eyes. "Please work! If you don't I'll be shipped off to the insane asylum by tomorrow..." Katherine thought as she slowly opened the book.  
  
Joan saw a red light burst out of nowhere. She closed her eyes from the blinding light; the only thing she heard was Christina scream. When she opened her eyes again everything was back to normal, except that Katherine and Christina were nowhere to be found. She sank weakly to the ground. "No way! No blasted way..." she said as she stared at where Katherine and Christina had been standing five seconds before. She noticed the book Katherine had been holding was where it had fallen in the driveway, with words appearing mysteriously on its pages; she reached over and picked it up. "The Priestesses of Suzaku," she read out loud, as she tried to figure out what just happened.  
  
To be continued... 


	9. Episode 8: Jubilant Return

Authors' Note: This is where things start to become interesting. Christina is now in Konan scaring everyone there, with some help from Katherine, using their spontaneous and random personality as their weapon, and when Christina's not doing that she's anxiously waiting to meet Tasuki. Joan becomes the Keisuke of this story and will soon try to find her Tetsuya. And Katherine ever so slightly starts her mission to show Hotohori how to lighten up every once in a while, without changing his wonderful personality. Hope you've enjoyed the fanfic so far! ~Nyan Nyan and Mrs. Tasuki~  
  
Episode 8:  
  
Jubilant Return  
  
By: Mrs. Tasuki and Nyan Nyan  
  
"The situation should have never become this grave," Hotohori said sadly to his advisors.  
  
"Your Majesty, I'm surprised that the peace lasted this long. During all of these years, Kutou has almost been too quiet," one of the several advisors replied, sitting before the emperor in the conference room.  
  
Just then two mysterious girls fell from the sky and landed on the emperor's head. The advisors stared in shock as all three of them fell to the floor.  
  
"No. Freakin'. Way," Christina said, looking around her in shock.  
  
Katherine and Hotohori stood up and hugged each other. "I'm so glad to have you back with us," Hotohori said clutching Katherine, as if to make sure she was actually there. They both heard several pounding noises; they turned to find several boxes toppled over in various places in the conference room. Many of the boxes and bags broke open and spilled their contents onto the floor. Christina had to scramble out of the way of a rather large Rubbermaid bin.  
  
"I must be dreaming... am I on Punk'd or Candid Camera? Where's Ashton Kutcher?" Christina said, still shocked, now sitting Indian-style with a blank look on her face.  
  
"Yeah, that's what I thought too, but this is the real thing," Katherine replied.  
  
Christina took a deep breath. "I just can't believe it," she said, exhaling. Katherine walked over and held out her hand for Christina to grab to help her stand up.  
  
"Oh!" Katherine said, remembering that Christina and Hotohori weren't formally introduced. "Hotohori, this is Christina, the friend I was talking to you about. Christina, this is Hotohori, the emperor of this land."  
  
"Nice to meet you," Christina choked out through suppressed laughter. She held out her hand for a handshake, but Hotohori just looked at it blankly.  
  
"This is how we formally greet people in our world," Katherine whispered in Hotohori's ear, "Just grab her hand, and she'll shake it."  
  
Hotohori gave Christina an inquisitive look, as if he was not sure if he should trust this newcomer, then cautiously grabbed Christina's hand. Just as Katherine had said, she took his hand and shook it.  
  
"C'mon! You HAVE to meet Nuriko!" Katherine said, while grabbing Christina's arm, about to bolt out the door.  
  
"There are two priestesses?" an advisor asked curiously.  
  
"I remember the legend speaking of one priestess," another advisor added.  
  
"Well Christina is Priestess Number Two," Katherine said, turning around to face the advisors and holding up two of her fingers.  
  
"Why am I Number Two?" Christina asked, also spinning around.  
  
"Because I was here first!" she exclaimed.  
  
"So? I'm taller than you!" Christina argued.  
  
"Well I'm older than you!"  
  
"Well I'm better!" Christina pointed out. They always had little fights like this. Neither of them ever took it personally; they just did it in the name of fun.  
  
"You wish!" Katherine hollered back as they turned around to walk out of the room and start searching for Nuriko.  
  
"I don't need to! I already am!"  
  
"Katherine! Christina! Wait!" Hotohori interrupted, hoping to stop them before the turned down the hallway. "I must ask you, the Priestesses of Suzaku, for a favor." You must find the other four constellations as soon as possible. Relations with out neighboring county Kutou have deteriorated. Every year we send ambassadors with peace treaties. Our ambassadors have not yet returned! In fact, Kutou accuses us of having never sent them in the first place. Their ministers were outraged, and they declared war. They've sought our lands since antiquity."  
  
"That's so terrible!" Katherine said as her eyes widened. The two priestesses knew from the very beginning that the war was an unavoidable circumstance, but it still seemed so horrendous. She then gathered herself, knowing that sulking about it wouldn't change it. She needed to think of productive things, "Well, you should still meet Nuriko," she continued, turning to Christina. They turned around and walked out the door.  
  
*  
  
"I think I need to sit back down," Christina said as they walked down the hallway in search for Nuriko. "I can't believe that this is actually happening, that I'm going to save a country from going to war. Please tell me that I'm dreaming."  
  
"I wish I could, but I can't. But, hey, look at the bright side," Katherine said as she put on a fake smile, "as least our fantasy is coming true. AND you'll meet Tasuki!"  
  
"Yeah..." Christina replied, now in her own daydream.  
  
They had just turned down a new hallway, when they both saw a flash of purple hair turn the corner. "Nuriko!" Katherine shouted, hoping to catch his attention.  
  
The bishounen turned around quickly. "Katherine?" he asked as his lavender eyes stared incredulously at her, as if he couldn't believe that she was standing right there. They ran up to each other, clasping hands, and started to jump up and down happily, as Christina just stood there with a shocked look on her face.  
  
"H-he's real-" Christina stuttered as she pointed to Nuriko.  
  
"Yes, he is REALLY pretty," Katherine quickly interrupted. She had tried so hard to keep the fact that she knew everything a secret; she couldn't let her friend ruin it now, even if she was in shock. "Nuriko, this is Christina," Katherine said quickly changing the subject, "Christina, this is Nuriko."  
  
"Yo," Christina said while waving once.  
  
"Hi..." Nuriko replied, assuming that yo was some kind of greeting.  
  
"Oh, by the way, where's Baka-home?" Katherine asked Nuriko.  
  
"You mean Tamahome?"  
  
"Same thing."  
  
"He went off to make some money did you really expect him to wait for you for three months without making a cent?" Nuriko asked sarcastically.  
  
"Oh so it HAS been three months..." Katherine mumbled, ignoring Nuriko's question.  
  
"Um..." Christina started, interrupting Katherine's train of thought, "shouldn't we go back and get our boxes before Hotohori or one of his advisors accidentally pushes a button or something?"  
  
"Oh shit-take mushrooms!" Katherine yelled while grabbing Christina's arm and darted back to the conference room.  
  
*  
  
Katherine and Christina bolted through the door to the conference room to find their boxes untouched and the advisors discussing some political matters with Hotohori. "I'm terribly sorry about this mess," Katherine said when they all turned to see who would so rudely enter the room without even knocking, "we'll clean it up right away."  
  
"That's okay. Take your time," Hotohori replied with a slight smile.  
  
The priestesses scurried around, shoving everything back into the boxes as fast as they could. Christina accidentally pressed the stomach of Katherine's Meeko stuffed animal; it let off a loud laughing sound.  
  
Hotohori jumped out of his chair as quickly as he could, as the advisors huddled together out of fear. "Katherine! Christina! Get back! That thing is demonic!"  
  
Katherine and Christina just stared at him and started cracking up. He looked back at them blankly, as if he missed something. "I'm sorry," Katherine started, in-between her laughter," but it's supposed to do that." Then she just sat back down and continued laughing.  
  
Christina took a deep breath, trying to control her laughter, and walked towards Hotohori with the stuffed raccoon in her hands. The emperor took a step back, frightened as to what it might do next. "It's not gonna bite!" Christina snickered, starting to laugh all over again at the fact that the emperor was so cautious over a stuffed animal. "It's Meeko! You know, Pocahontas!" Then, suddenly, Katherine's worst nightmare happened, Christina randomly started to sing. "You think you own whatever land you land on, the earth is just a dead thing you can claim. But I know every rock and tree and creature, has a life, has a spirit, has a name."  
  
"Christina... you're scaring them..." Katherine warned as her friend continued to sing.  
  
"The rainstorm and the river are my brothers, the heron and the otter are my friends and we are all connected to other, in a circle, in a hoop, that never ends. How high does the sycamore grow? If you cut it down, then you'll never know," she continued to sing in her award-winning voice. Katherine just stared at her friend in disbelief, not believing that she was embarrassing both of them like this.  
  
"Well, I believe everything is back in the boxes," Katherine, scanning the room to see if she left anything behind. "Well, we'll be in my room if you need anything."  
  
"I'll have Christina's room prepared at once. It will be right next to your room," Hotohori said as they picked up their boxes and bags.  
  
"Really!?" That's so nice!" Christina said as her eyes grew larger.  
  
As they walked out into the hallway, they saw Nuriko again. "Hey! Nuriko, maybe we should start looking got Tamahome soon," Katherine said as they ran up to him, dragging their boxes and bags behind them.  
  
"Why do we want to find Baka-home again?" Christina quietly asked Katherine.  
  
"Because if we find Baka-home, we find Chichiri," Katherine whispered back so Nuriko couldn't hear.  
  
"I hope you don't mean right now. It's WAY too late. We'll set off tomorrow morning though," Nuriko replied; ignoring the priestesses' secret conversation.  
  
"What do you mean? It's only 5:30," Christina said while looking at her watch. Christina usually didn't go to bed until well after two in the morning.  
  
"Over here, 5:30 is like the end of the day," Katherine explained.  
  
"Are you serious? What am I supposed to do for nine hours?"  
  
"Nine hours!?" Nuriko asked, "When do you go to sleep?"  
  
"Around two..." Christina explained as though anyone who went to bed any earlier was insane.  
  
"I'm sure you two will figure out some way to entertain yourselves until tomorrow morning," Nuriko said while walking away. Katherine and Christina just looked at each other deviously.  
  
*  
  
"On your mark!" Christina started.  
  
"Get set!" Katherine said.  
  
"GO!"  
  
The priestesses of Suzaku darted off; roller-blading as fast as they could down the palace hallway. The smooth tile under their blades made it easy for them to pick up more speed. They loved the rush; the wind blowing through their hair, the scenery growing more and more blurry around them, the lack of pressure as they glided along the white flooring. As they gained more speed, the crouched towards the ground, becoming more aerodynamic and compact. They were both better than average skaters, but far from being pro. They turned a corner sharply, still remaining neck and neck. As they gained even more speed it became harder to keep their eyes open. All of the sudden they saw a blurry, purple object in front of them. Before they knew it, they felt the collars of their shirts choking them and suddenly the blurry purple object focused into Nuriko.  
  
"When I told you to entertain yourselves, I didn't have you two running me over with those... things in mind!" Nuriko scolded as he lowered the two priestesses to the ground and let go of the front of their shirts.  
  
"Sorry..." Katherine and Christina said in unison as the rubbed the back of their necks in pain. Then they slowly continued to roller blade down the hallway.  
  
"Katherine!" Nuriko called after the two girls. Katherine turned around in a 180°.  
  
"What?" she asked as she continued to roller blade backwards.  
  
"One day you two have to teach me how to use those things."  
  
"Sure, no problamo," Katherine answered.  
  
Then Christina jumped into the air and turned around, still continuing to skate backwards when she landed. "By the way, these are called roller blades, just in case you're curious," she added cheerfully. They both turned around with another 180° and continued to race down the halls.  
  
*  
  
"I still can't help thinking that this is all a dream," Christina said while helping Katherine unpack.  
  
"Well, just keep telling yourself that even if this is a dream, you want to meet Tasuki before you wake up," Katherine advised as she put her CD player and her Fushigi Yuugi CD's in one of her drawers.  
  
"Wait," Christina said as she saw Katherine's CD's. "I just had an idea. There is no language barrier in this world right?"  
  
"Yeah, unless it's written," Katherine replied, not seeing where Christina was going with this idea.  
  
"So, wouldn't your F.Y. CD's be-" Christina started.  
  
"IN ENGLISH!" Katherine finished excitedly as she opened the quickly opened the drawer and scrambled to get her CD player open and the CD in, as if she missed a second it would decide to play in Japanese. She hastily put the headphones on her head and pressed play. Automatically it went to track one, the opening song.  
  
Well it wasn't in English, but Katherine could comprehend it. Understanding the words was a very strange feeling, almost like subtitles were playing through their heads. It was as if they were bilingual, and could understand Japanese perfectly. What they heard was 'Maigare, Suzaku. Miracle la', but the girls understood exactly what it was saying, what it meant. 'Soar High Suzaku, Miracle la. The legend begins to unfold'.  
  
"This is SO cool! It's not in English, but I can UNDERSTAND it!" Katherine yelled.  
  
"Lemme listen to Tasuki's song! Lemme listen to Tasuki's song!" Christina chanted back as she reached over, trying to steal Katherine's CD player.  
  
"Not before I hear Hotohori's!" Katherine yelled back, as she skipped to track 4. "Oh my gosh, this song is SO much better once you can understand the lyrics!" she exclaimed as she went off into her own fantasy.  
  
"My turn! My turn! My turn!" Christina said spastically as she reached for the headphones, but Katherine turned away just in time.  
  
"Go get the headphones you brought! My CD player can hold two, but don't get your CD player, we shouldn't waste batteries. Now SHUTUP! I'm trying to listen!" Katherine yelled jokingly.  
  
Christina scrambled through one of her boxes, desperately trying to find her head phones. "Found them!" she shouted happily with her headphones in her right hand. She plugged them in and looked at Katherine anxiously.  
  
"FINE! I'll put on Tasuki's song!" she said while skipped to track 10.  
  
*  
  
"Yes! Food!" Christina shouted happily as she and Katherine sat down to eat. There was a large wooden table with a white table cloth delicately laid over it. They each had a delicious buffet of food before them that included egg rolls and rice.  
  
"CHOW TIME!" Katherine exclaimed happily.  
  
"Christina, your room is ready, if you'd like to unpack once dinner is through." Hotohori told her as he sat down in his chair at the head of the table.  
  
"Really? That quickly?" she replied.  
  
"Out of curiosity," Nuriko said, changing the subject, "did you two run over anybody else with those roller blades of yours?"  
  
"I think a scholar or two," Christina said jokingly.  
  
"Yeah, and a couple of guards... Oh! And a cat... or was that a dog...?" Katherine continued, going along with the joke.  
  
"That was a dog," Christina seriously said.  
  
"Oh, okay then, also a dog," Katherine finished. Nuriko, Hotohori, and the advisors stared at the two priestesses, shocked.  
  
"You two are joking... right?" Nuriko asked.  
  
"Of course we are!" Christina replied with a large smile.  
  
"Yeah, we went back to my room to unpack my stuff right after we almost ran into you," Katherine said.  
  
"By the by," Christina started, using one of her many odd phrases, "Why on earth are you using a fork Katherine?"  
  
"Have you ever seen me use chopsticks? I can assure you, it's quite sad," she replied.  
  
"Yes it is," Nuriko agreed remembering watching Katherine attempt to use them several months before.  
  
"So this time I was smart enough to bring a couple of forks," Katherine continued, "Behold the wonders of fork!" she yelled, as she held the fork out in front of her. "So, Hotohori, what's new?" the she randomly asked, realizing he wasn't talking much.  
  
"You mean besides the fact that his country is going to war?" Christina replied sarcastically.  
  
"Shut up."  
  
"Katherine..." Hotohori scolded, shocked that she would say something so mean to her best friend.  
  
"What? Oh that!? WE say that to each other all the time," Katherine replied, trying to explain herself.  
  
"Oooooooo! Now you're getting in trouble with the emperor! Shame on you!" Christina teased.  
  
"Oh, like you haven't said worse things to me!" Katherine retorted.  
  
"No, I haven't. You cut me deep, Katherine," Christina said in mock grief while clutching her chest as though she had been stabbed.  
  
"I think it may take a while to get used to them," Nuriko whispered in Hotohori's ear as the two priestesses continued with their bickering.  
  
*  
  
"Well I think that's the last of it," Katherine said with a sigh as she looked around Christina's room to make sure all the boxes were empty.  
  
"Yeah... I can't believe we brought so much stuff," Christina said, as she sat own in a chair, exhausted.  
  
"Well, I better be going to bed. We have a long day tomorrow," Katherine replied, walking out the door to go back to her own room.  
  
"Good night," Christina called after her.  
  
"Good night."  
  
*  
  
"Wakey! Wakey! Eggs-and-bacey!" Christina shouted cheerfully in Katherine's ear.  
  
"Christina...?" Katherine replied, still half-asleep. "What time is it?" she asked drowsily, putting her head under the pillow.  
  
"It's eight," Christina answered, looking at her watch. "C'mon! Today is the day we meet Chichiri! And the quicker we meet we meet him, the quicker we meet my Tasuki!" she said anxiously.  
  
" 'Your' Tasuki?" Katherine replied, while looking out from under her pillow.  
  
"Yes... MY Tasuki!" Christina shouted as she grabbed Katherine's arm and dragged her out of her bed. "We still need to wake up Nuriko!"  
  
*  
  
"You two are going to search for Tamahome alone?" Hotohori questioned, worried that they might get lost or hurt.  
  
"No, Nuriko's coming with us!" Katherine replied cheerfully.  
  
"We even got him to wear men's clothes!" Christina added. She reached behind the doorframe, as if she was searching for something, and then she yanked, hard. Suddenly, Nuriko came stumbling through the doorway, wearing a bright pink kimono with a white border. Once he caught his balance, he stood there blushing and looking at the floor, as if he was ashamed of something. "See? Isn't he hott? With two 't's'?" Christina said, putting special emphasis on the word 'hott'.  
  
"The only reason I'm doing this is the fact that it's harder to protect you in women's clothing," Nuriko said, defending himself.  
  
"Hotohori, you can come too, if you want to," Katherine said, hoping that maybe he would be able to this time, knowing that in the series he wasn't able to.  
  
"I'm terribly sorry, but this is one journey on which can not accompany you. Please do be careful though. There are reports of Kutou spies in the area," he replied, concerned.  
  
*  
  
"Hey, Christina! I just had this great idea!" Katherine shouted joyfully from the top of her horse.  
  
"What is it?" she anxiously replied, looking over to Katherine. Nuriko just sat on his horse, in silence, letting the two priestesses talk.  
  
"We could tell Tamahome that you have Tourettes Syndrome!" Katherine suggested while cracking up, almost falling off of her horse.  
  
"Why on earth would you two want to do something like that?" Nuriko asked, as Christina and Katherine were dying of laughter.  
  
"To scare him!" Christina answered in-between laughter.  
  
"Poor Tama-baby..." Nuriko mumbled, using his famous nickname for Tamahome.  
  
Christina and Katherine suddenly stopped and started at Nuriko oddly. The turn to look at each other and continued with their plan. "You could be like," Katherine started, "'Hi Tamahome, nice to meet you... die, Die, DIE!'" And with that, the two priestesses continued to die of laughter while they were traveling to find Tamahome.  
  
*  
  
"Man, it's hot!" Katherine complained.  
  
"If you think it's hot in March, just wait until it's July!" Nuriko replied, surprised that Katherine thought it was warm.  
  
"Sorry, we live in Ohio. It's NEVER this hot in March... wait... it's March!?" Katherine asked, confused because it was May in her world, but then she remembered that the time span was different. Nuriko didn't even bother asking what 'Ohio' was.  
  
"You know what that means, Katherine?" Christina asked, her face bright with joy.  
  
"Oh yeah! We made it just in time for the birthday parties!" Katherine shouted happily, referring to Hotohori's and Tasuki's birthdays, which were both in April. Hotohori's Birthday was April 2nd, and Tasuki's was April 18th.  
  
"Whose birthday is it?" Nuriko asked excitedly, already getting ready to party.  
  
"Ummm... it's-" Katherine started, trying to cover that she knew.  
  
"MINE!" Christina interrupted, saving both of them. There was no way that they would know when Hotohori's birthday was, yet alone Tasuki's if they had never seen Fushigi Yuugi.  
  
"What day?" Nuriko asked curiously  
  
"The 31st," Christina answered proudly.  
  
"But how old am I?" Christina wondered. It was May, and she had already celebrated her fifteenth birthday. "I just had my birthday two months ago, so does that mean we're celebrating my birthday again? Or am I 16?"  
  
"I guess we'll celebrate it again, since there is NO WAY you are old enough to drive," Katherine proclaimed.  
  
"I wonder where Tamahome is; we've been searching for him for hours now!"  
  
Nuriko complained, becoming more and more agitated. "You guys aren't actually going to do that Tourettes thing are you?"  
  
"No... I guess not..." Katherine replied disappointedly.  
  
"Why not!?" Christina yelled, shocked at Katherine's answer. She was already planning the things she was going to do to scare him.  
  
"First of all, he's our sei; we can't scare him TOO much. Second of all, it wouldn't be a very good first impression," Katherine answered.  
  
"I don't care! It's only Baka-home," Christina still couldn't see how scaring Tamahome could be a bad thing.  
  
"This is strange..." Nuriko said randomly, "This place doesn't look familiar; maybe we took a wrong path..."  
  
"We should probably turn around... it's already becoming dusk," Katherine advised.  
  
A large root was jutting out of the ground of the forest floor. Christina's horse stumbled as its foot struck the root, causing Christina to lose her balance and fall off her horse. She landed on her feet, but almost fell over as she bent her legs to absorb the shock of landing on the ground so quickly. She fell forward onto her knees. "Oww..." she complained, having never fallen off of a horse in all the years she had ridden.  
  
"You okay?" Nuriko called towards where Christina had fallen; it was becoming harder to see in the dusk.  
  
"Yeah," her voice called back to Nuriko and Katherine.  
  
Christina slowly stood up and saw a dark shape looming ahead of her. She recoiled, not knowing what it could be. She tried to focus in on whoever it was. Suddenly, a torch was lit somewhere nearby and Christina found herself staring into Tamahome's face.  
  
"Tamahome?" she asked, unsure if she was really seeing him.  
  
"How'd you know my name? Who are you?" he asked as more torches were lit by the villagers and Nuriko and Katherine spotted the two off in the distance.  
  
"Tamahome!" Katherine yelled over to him mischievously in a sing-song voice, "I'm back!"  
  
"Katherine? Nuriko?" Tamahome asked as he turned his head towards them. Nuriko and Katherine dismounted and walked over to where Tamahome and Christina were standing.  
  
"This is Christina," Katherine informed gesturing towards her friend.  
  
It was then Christina remembered that arrows come flying towards the townspeople in the series. "Duck!" she yelled to the men standing around behind Tamahome. Suddenly, a ghastly pair of hands grabbed the priestesses and pulled them into the dark forest.  
  
To be continued...  
  
AN2: We just wanted to point out that we mean no offense to anyone out there who has Tourettes okay? Hope you understand... ~Mrs. Tasuki and Nyan Nyan~  
  
AN3: WOW! LOTSA NOTES! Guess what?! In the next episode you guys get to find out who the Priestess of Seiryuu is! Yay! Anyways... we thought it would be fun if you guys tried to guess who it was before we post it... and if we have already posted it, then just send us a review and guess it before you read on! Fun, eh? Okay... so not THAT much fun... but hey! Why not? You never know... maybe you'll guess it right! *Sorry, I'm slap happy right now, can ya tell? HINT: It is a character that you already know, so don't worry. We aren't gonna surprise you and be like "HEY! The Priestess of Seiryuu is Sue! Wait... Who the hell is Sue?!" ~Nyan Nyan and Mrs. Tasuki~  
  
~*~  
  
Fushigi Akugi  
  
(I randomly found this on my computer titled "Katherine's Happy Ending". I'm thinking that maybe Mrs. Tasuki had some built up anger towards me for one reason or another...yeah...well here it is anyways! Hope you enjoy it...*mumbling stuff about payback towards Mrs. Tasuki* ~Nyan Nyan~)  
  
"Yes! Food!" Christina shouted happily as she sat down to eat. There was a large wooden table with a white table cloth delicately laid over it. They each had a delicious buffet of food before them that included egg rolls and rice. Katherine came out on a platter with an apple in her mouth. She was baked quite nicely. Hotohori turned over to Nuriko and said, "I didn't like her much anyways, she'll probably taste nasty too."  
  
Christina, Tasuki, Hotohori, Nuriko, and the rest of the Suzaku Seishi lived happily ever after, and everyone forgot about Katherine.  
  
Nobody ate Katherine, because they thought she'd taste gross. She was sent to Kutou, where the Nakago, Tomo, Miboshi, Soi, and Ashitare ate her and died of food poisoning. 


	10. Episode 9: Enemies Unseen

AN: This episode is dedicated to our editor... EMI!!! Thank you so much Emi! You are our lifesaver (not the candy)! ~Nyan Nyan and Mrs. Tasuki~  
  
Episode 9:  
  
Enemies Unseen  
  
By: Nyan Nyan and Mrs. Tasuki  
  
Joan was sitting in the front yard of her family's house, dumbstruck. "This has got to be a joke, or I have got to be insane," she muttered to herself. She quickly closed the book and inspected it, looking for wires. The Universe of the Four Gods was printed in fading black letters on the cover. She reopened the book and flipped through the pages, as if trying to reveal a mass of circuitry. She was hoping that Christina and Katherine somehow figured out how to give the illusion that they were sucked into the book. She turned back to the beginning of the book and read the passage.  
  
This is the story of the young girls who single-handedly gathered the Seven Stars of Suzaku and gained the power to make all their dreams come true. The story itself is an incantation and whomever reads it gains the main characters' powers to have their wishes granted. This is because once they turn the first page; the story will become real and begin.  
  
"This can't be real," she told herself, "It's just not possible! It's not even logical!" She, being the one who introduced her sister and Christina, her sister's friend, to Fushigi Yuugi, knew all about the anime. But this just wasn't possible. "What am I, Keisuke?" she jokingly asked herself. "Wait a minute," she said as she reread the paragraph, "It says girls, not girl." She pondered this thought for a moment and then came to a conclusion. "Oh yeah! In Asian languages, there are no plurals; it can be translated either way ... so I guess that could happen."  
  
*  
  
The two girls felt themselves being dragged through the brush and branches. When they were in the middle of a small clearing, the hands let go and they rose to their feet. Just as they suspected, a blue-haired monk with a mask on was standing before them. "CHICHIRI!" They yelled as they hugged him tightly.  
  
"You know me, no da?" he asked, shocked by their reaction. They quickly let go, realizing that they let their excitement get out of hand.  
  
Christina put her hand up to Katherine's ear and excitedly whispered, "He even says no da!"  
  
"I know!" Katherine agreed, with a large smile, while Chichiri eyed them strangely.  
  
"Priestesses of Suzaku, the Kutou assassins intend to harm you, no da," Chchiri informed, ignoring the priestesses' secret conversation.  
  
Katherine and Christina stared at him in disbelief. "Well duh," Christina answered, "that's why they are called assassins."  
  
"Now I bid you farewell no da," Chichiri said, disregarding Christina's comment. He crouched onto the ground, pulled his hat over himself, and disappeared. Katherine and Christina smiled and picked up the kasa, admiring it like it was much more than just a hat.  
  
"The hat works too!" Katherine and Christina chimed happily. Christina grabbed the hat from Katherine's hands.  
  
"I wanna wear it," she proclaimed as she started to put it around her neck.  
  
"I wanna wear it too!" Katherine said as she snatched it back.  
  
"Katherine, you've already been here for months, I wanna wear it!"  
  
"Fine! But I get to wear it tomorrow!"  
  
"Deal!" they proclaimed in unison as they shook hands. Christina gleefully put the kasa around her neck. Tamahome came bursting through the bushes.  
  
"Are you guys okay?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah, we were just talking to Chichiri," Katherine answered.  
  
"Who's Chi-" Tamahome started, but was interrupted by a blood-curdling scream.  
  
"I told them to duck!" Christina yelled as they ran back to the path. She and Katherine both knew that the assassins attacked the villagers while they were taken away by Chichiri. As they approached the clearing from before both of them hoped that there were no fatalities.  
  
"Oh no..." Katherine mumbled. They looked around in shock; a dozen men were lying on the ground, pierced with arrows. Another dozen were hiding near the bushes, out of harm's way. Nuriko was leaning against a tree and arrows were outlining his body.  
  
"Nuriko, what happened to them?" Tamahome asked, outraged that he was not able to protect them.  
  
"The moment Christina and Katherine were grabbed, and you went after them, these arrows flew directly to where they were." Nuriko explained while standing up and removing an arrow from his sleeve.  
  
*  
  
"Like we said earlier, Chichiri told us that the dudes from Kutou were out to get us," Katherine explained.  
  
"Dudes?" Tamahome asked.  
  
"Yeah, dudes," Christina said, as though it was the dumbest question anyone could ask, "As in 'Dude, grab your board so we can grab some powder' or 'What's up dude?'"  
  
Nuriko, Christina, Katherine, and Tamahome were sitting at a wooden table in a run-down restaurant. There were a few wooden tables scattered around the room, and the concrete floor looked like it needed a good scrubbing, but the food was good nevertheless.  
  
"Do people actually talk like that in your world?" Nuriko asked, still trying to understand what half of the words meant.  
  
"Only surfers," Katherine answered.  
  
"I am not a surfer, I am a snowboarder," Christina pointed out irritably, "And I have never even surfed before. I've done wakeboarding, boogie boarding, and skim boarding, but never surfing."  
  
A man suddenly burst through the main door. "Tamahome! There are some strange people at the west gate!"  
  
Tamahome jumped up from his chair and threw his hands into the air with delight. "What? Is that money I hear?" he said as he stood up. He cleared his throat,  
  
"I mean... that's terrible, Nuriko, watch after those two." Then he pranced out of the room, his arms waving happily up and down.  
  
Nuriko let out a loud sigh from Tamahome being so much like... Tamahome. "Before you find any more constellations, you might want to cure Tamahome's fixations on money," he sarcastically told the priestesses.  
  
"Yeah, I wonder what could be so important," Christina to Katherine said teasingly.  
  
"Hey, he's a nice guy," one of the men commented.  
  
"What do YOU know!? NICE GUYS volunteer they services! They guard villages for free!" Nuriko argued angrily.  
  
*  
  
Katherine stirred in her bed; she heard some mysterious noise through the window. She slowly opened her eyes, agitated that something was waking her up this early in the morning. It had taken Christina and herself a while to fall asleep the night before on account of the fact that they were not used to going to bed before midnight, even on school nights. She continued to hear some rustling through the open window and steadily sat up in her bed.  
  
"What's going on?" Katherine wondered while rubbing her eyes. "Oh yeah! Tamahome is going to go see his family today! She stood up and took Chichiri's hat off of the chair they laid it on, excited that she could wear it for the next twenty-four hours. She looked over to where Christina was laying. Of course, she was still asleep.   
  
"Christina..." Katherine said while jabbing her friend, trying to wake her up. She kicked Christina in the side, but all Christina did was roll over. "Why do you have to be such a heavy sleeper?!" She stood there for a second thinking to herself of how she could get her best friend up. "All that she needs is some motivation," she muttered, she contemplated what Christina would wake up for. "LEKKA SHINEN!" Katherine shouted in her friend's ear, trying her hardest so say it with Tasuki's accent. She was never good at imitating people though and she was even worse when they had accents.  
  
Christina bolted up and looked around, bewildered. "Tasuki? Where's Tasuki?!" she asked while looking around the room, searching for any red- haired bandits.  
  
"Sorry, that was just me," Katherine admitted as she gave her friend angelic eyes.  
  
"That was cruel!" Christina yelled back, slamming her fists into the mattress.  
  
"Well how else am I supposed to get you up?!" Katherine hollered as she grabbed Christina's arm and attempted to pull her out of the bed.  
  
"Well why DO you have to wake me up?! It's early!" Christina shouted back as she resisted, hoping Katherine would let go and let her go back to sleep.  
  
"You want to meet Tamahome's family, don't you?" Katherine asked sarcastically, agitated that she was putting up this much of a fight. They both adored Tamahome's family, even though they disliked him so much.  
  
"All right, all right, I'm going!" Christina said as she slowly stood up and yawned. "What about Nuriko? Did you wake him up yet?"  
  
"No, not yet..." Katherine replied sheepishly.  
  
"WELL WHY DIDN'T YOU WAKE HIM UP AND LET ME SLEEP FOR FIVE MORE MINUTES?!" Christina asked angrily.  
  
"Oh shut up, there's nothing we can do about it now!" Katherine said as she stormed over by Nuriko's bed, but he had already awoken from the noise the two priestesses were causing.  
  
"Will you two shut up?!" he screamed at them as he buried his head under his pillow.  
  
"Nuriko, do you want to follow Tamahome?" Katherine innocently asked him as he peeked out from under pillow.  
  
He let out a huge yawn and quickly sat up. "Sure!" he shouted excitedly. He was already planning how much fun it would be to stalk Tamahome. Christina, Katherine, and Nuriko snuck outside and quietly mounted their horses just as Tamahome was leaving.  
  
"Don't follow too closely," Nuriko warned.  
  
"So, where do you think he's going?" Katherine asked innocently.  
  
"I dunno," Christina shrugged.  
  
They rode for another half hour until they saw a small town off in the distance. Tamahome rode in and greeted people as he passed. Nuriko and the priestesses tied their horses to a tree and followed him into the middle of the town. He walked into a small house and yelled, "Chuei! Gyokuran! Shunkei! Yuiren! I'm home!" Four small children ran out and hugged Tamahome's legs tightly.  
  
"Big Brother! You're back!" they chorused happily.  
  
"Has everyone been good?" he asked them.  
  
"Yes!" they answered as they marched into the small house. Tamahome walked over to the bed in the back of the tiny room. A sickly man was lying on the bed.  
  
"Dad, it's me," Tamahome said, "I'm back."  
  
"Tamahome," the man said, happy to see his son.  
  
"Look how much I made," Tamahome said as he held up a string of coins to show his father. "How're you doing?" he asked.  
  
"I'm alright; Chuei's been looking after the farm," the ill man muttered out. Chuei came to stand by his elder brother's side, looking bashful at the praise his father was giving him.  
  
"I'm proud of you," Tamahome said to his little brother. His brother looked just like a miniature Tamahome but with his hair up in a bun instead of in a braid.  
  
"But I'm no good," Chuei confessed as he looked down at the dirt floor, ashamed. "The crops won't grow."  
  
"I guess it was a good thing that I went to the city," Tamahome stated.  
  
"I'm happy that you care about us," Tamahome's father said, "but why don't you start thinking about your own happiness?"  
  
"Dad, never mind about me," Tamahome said modestly. "Anyway, I have to get going. Chuei, take care of things."  
  
"Big brother, do you have to go so soon?" Shunkei begged as he followed his older brother towards the doorway.  
  
"Don't go!" Yuiren yelled as she grabbed onto her brother's leg.  
  
"Tell you what Yuiren; I'll buy you a doll next time!" Tamahome replied as he knelt down to look at his baby sister eye-to-eye.  
  
"I want you more!" she said as she hugged him.  
  
"Yuiren, I'll do anything to make you happy. I'll grit my teeth and work any job!" he said as he held his little brothers and sisters. "So please... Won't you all hang on a little longer? Please..."  
  
*  
  
"Tama-chan's so valiant!" Nuriko sniffled. He and the two priestesses were sitting outside of the window eavesdropping on the whole conversation. Katherine and Christina stared at him in complete disbelief of what he was saying.  
  
"Yuiren! What's wrong?!" they heard Tamahome scream through the open window.  
  
"That's our cue," Katherine stated as she stood up and dusted herself off. They walked towards the front of the house and knocked three times on the door. Tamahome answered it with Yuiren in his arms. He blinked several times, shocked that they were standing there.  
  
"Surprise!" Christina and Katherine shouted cheerfully in unison with wide smiles on their face.  
  
"What the hell are you guys doing here?" Tamahome skeptically asked.  
  
"Where there is a child in need," Katherine started, forming fake tears in her eyes. She then took a deep breath as if finishing the sentence would cause her too much pain.  
  
"We will come," Christina finished in melodramatic voice. She placed her hand over her heart, as if she was pledging her loyalty to someone. Tamahome just stared at them blankly, not knowing how to respond.  
  
Nuriko let out an exasperated sigh as he rolled his lavender eyes. "We were eavesdropping through the window," he explained.  
  
"Tamahome," Yuiren muttered weakly, still in his arms.  
  
"Don't worry, we brought..." Christina said valiantly as she searched through the black mini book bag she was wearing. She paused for a couple seconds, partly for dramatic effect and partly to give herself more time to find the tiny little bottle of pills. "Tylenol®!" she finished as thrust the white bottle towards Tamahome's face. Katherine put both of her hands in front of her mouth and made a heroic trumpet noise as she pretended to play the invisible instrument.  
  
"Aren't you gonna let us in?" Nuriko asked irritably because they had been standing in the doorway for several minutes now. The priestesses and the purple-haired sei didn't wait for Tamahome to answer and automatically walked into his house. Tamahome laid his little sister on one of the beds.  
  
Katherine opened up the bottle of pills and took one out. She looked at it blankly for a couple of seconds as it lay in her hand. She smacked her lips together once and turned to Christina. "We need water," she acknowledged, stating the obvious.  
  
"I'll go get it," Christina volunteered. She grabbed the wooden bucket that was sitting outside the front door and ran off down the path towards where she hoped was a creek. After five minutes of jogging, she saw a lovely little stream before her. She knelt down and quickly filled the bucket with cool, clear water. She turned around to see three tall men, clad in black from head to toe, blocking her path.  
  
"Kutou agents," Christina thought. She backed away slowly as her eyes darted around, looking for a way to escape.  
  
"Priestess of Seiryuu, please come with us," one of the men said In a muffled voice.  
  
"Priestess of Seiryuu..." she wondered, "Oh, what the HELL NO!" she yelled while she hurled the wood bucket towards them. The agent in the center easily sliced it to pieces. But as soon as she had thrown the pail, Christina had taken off into the forest.  
  
*  
  
After reading for a few minutes, Joan figured that she should probably go inside or at least call someone.  
  
"But who would actually believe me?" she asked herself. She stood up and walked into her house. "What I need is someone to be the Tetsuya to my Keisuke," she thought as she opened the door. "What about Lisa?" she asked herself, trying to think of someone who would not only believe her, but know a lot about Fushigi Yuugi. "No, she's on vacation at Myrtle Beach... What about Michelle? No, she's only seen up to episode 37. Sarah? Diana? DIANA!" she thought, not believing it took her so long to think of her friend. Friend of three years, fellow Fushigi Yuugi fan, Diana was perfect for this situation. Although neither of them was as obsessive as Christina or Katherine, but they had seen most of the episodes.  
  
Joan picked up the telephone and dialed Diana's number, desperately hoping that she was home.  
  
"Hello?" a voice asked.  
  
"Diana?"  
  
"Yup," Diana answered through the phone.  
  
"Hey! It's Joan, are you doing anything right now?" she asked, jamming all her words together.  
  
"No..." Diana replied, still trying to comprehend what her friend just said.  
  
"Do you think you could come over?" Joan asked, crossing her fingers.  
  
"Umm. sure!" she said, "When should I come over?"  
  
"Is now good?" Joan asked.  
  
"Mm, okay," Diana replied, having to think about if for a second or two. "I'll drive over now," she continued and then hung up the phone. Joan sat down on one of the blue armchairs in the living room and flipped through the pages of the book until she was where she had left off.  
  
¤  
  
The trees flew by and Christina suddenly became aware of every noise she made. Every snapping twig, every crunched leaf, suddenly sounded like the sound was magnified by hundreds. Christina ran as fast as she could away from the Kutou emissaries. After two minutes of sprinting, she had calmed down enough to realize that she was not running towards Tamahome's house. She turned around toward where the village was and started to run again. After a few more minutes, she stopped to catch her breath at the edge of a small clearing. Her lungs felt like they were going to burst and she thought her legs were going to fall off.  
  
She took another deep breath and got ready to run some more. She was about to start until she saw a Kutou agent in front of her. She backed up and turned to run in another direction, but there was an assassin already blocking her path. Christina was surrounded by Kutou agents, and they were closing in on her, giving her no chance to escape.  
  
"Come with us, Priestess of Seiryuu," the agent on the left insisted. Christina was pressed up against a tree. There was no way she could flee.  
  
"I'm not the Priestess of Seiryuu!" she yelled. She looked back at the black trio and saw one was missing. A hand clamped over her mouth and in the blink of an eye, the Kutou agents and Christina had vanished.  
  
*  
  
The next moment, Christina and her captors appeared in a large dark room that was lit by candles. The agents walked out the door and closed it behind them. The room was almost a copy of Christina's bedroom in Konan, but instead of it being warm and inviting, the room seemed cold. There were two beds, on the opposite sides of the room, and a small table sat in the middle of the room.  
  
She walked across the room to the window and peered outside. There were several large buildings with blue roofs situated on the dingy, gray stone. There was a soft knock on the door. A woman wearing a blue kimono walked in and bowed.  
  
"Lady Priestess," she said politely, "Lord Nakago wishes to see you."  
  
"Well, tell Lord Nakago that he can go-" she started but left her sentence hanging when the three Kutou agents walked into the room.  
  
"Priestess of Seiryuu," they ordered, "come with us, now."  
  
"I told you, I'm not the Priestess of Seiryuu!" she insisted as they led her out of the room and down a maze of hallways. They stopped after they had entered the throne room. It was exactly like the room in Konan Palace. Except that everything seemed to be blue instead of red and where the depiction of Suzaku was in Konan, was a picture of Seiryuu.  
  
Christina looked up at the throne and saw an ugly man with a prominent goatee sitting pompously. The three agents slunk back into the shadows, leaving Christina standing alone. She heard footsteps approaching from the corridor on the other side of the room. She saw a tall figure with blue and silver armor enter the room, followed by a short girl with brown hair.  
  
The girl was about Katherine's height. She was wearing a brown school uniform with a white shirt and a blue bow. Her hair was pulled up into buns, and it reminded Christina thoroughly of Princess Leia. The girl had big, innocent looking eyes and looked as though she led an extremely sheltered life. Christina stared at Miaka in disbelief.  
  
The man took off his helmet to reveal blue eyes and blonde hair. Christina saw Miaka mouth, "A blonde-haired ultra-hunk!"  
  
"Nakago," the emperor asked, "Which one is the Priestess of Seiryuu?"  
  
"Not me!" Christina yelled. Nakago looked over at her, his eyebrow raised. Christina determinedly glared back at the general smugly.  
  
"This one was wandering around near a border town in Konan," Nakago said while looking pointedly at Christina. "And I found her in a deserted part of downtown Kutou," he said, now looking at Miaka.  
  
Miaka shuffled over towards Christina, seeing that she was wearing modern- day clothes. Christina responded by intently glaring at her, but Miaka didn't seem to notice.  
  
"So which one is the priestess?" the emperor asked again.  
  
"Wouldn't it technically be a matter of choice to be the priestess?" Christina pointed out while Nakago watched her in a calculating manner. "And I choose not to be the priestess." Christina finished. Miaka just stayed silent, staring at the floor. Nakago glared at Christina. The girl seemed like she knew too much.  
  
A guard escorted Christina and Miaka back to the room. Christina sprawled out on the bed in frustration. Miaka sat down on one of the chairs that were around the table and gobbled down the food that had been laid out.  
  
"I'm Miaka," she introduced, happy that she was finally meeting someone from her own world, "Nice to meet you!" She was way too cheery, considering the situation; it annoyed Christina how oblivious Miaka was to the danger.  
  
"I'm Christina," she answered.  
  
"So, where are you from?" Miaka asked. The girl didn't look Japanese; she had freckles. "I'm from Japan."  
  
"United States." Christina wasn't in the mood to have a conversation with anyone, especially not Miaka.  
  
"Then how can I understand you?" Miaka asked, "Do you speak Japanese?"  
  
"Well, I'm guessing since the book was translated, languages are automatically translated, which explains why even though I can't read this country's writing, I can understand everyone," Christina answered simply.  
  
"So... what's with all this priestess stuff?" Miaka asked. "I've asked Nakago a couple times, but he won't tell me much."  
  
Christina sighed. "Great. Now I get to explain everything in the Cliff's Notes version," she thought to herself. Christina took a deep breath. "OK, there are four gods; Suzaku, Seiryuu, Byakko, and Genbu. Each god has seven seishi, who are people with wicked powers and they have these Chinese symbols that appear on their bodies. Anywho, the priestesses have to be from another world and they have to gather their god's seishi so they can summon their god. Once the god is summoned, the priestesses get three wishes. Byakko and Genbu have already been summoned, so Kutou is looking for the Priestess of Seiryuu." Christina gave Miaka a few seconds for her brain to process all the information.  
  
"Oh! Now I get it!" Miaka exclaimed. She was glad to have finally met someone besides Nakago.  
  
¤  
  
"Where does it hurt?" Katherine nervously asked Yuiren, since she didn't have too much experience with treating illnesses.  
  
"My head," Yuiren replied softly, looking up at the priestess from where she was lying.  
  
"Ummmm..." Katherine stated, "I honestly don't know all that much about diseases and stuff, but I think you may have caught a cold."  
  
"Are you big brother's wife?" the sick child asked Katherine curiously.  
  
"What?!" Katherine yelled as she took a step backwards, completely disgusted, "Hell no!"  
  
Tamahome was just as shocked and disturbed as Katherine. "Why would I want to marry this idiot?" he said, completely appalled at the idea.  
  
Katherine was horrified; she gasped as she put her hand over her mouth. "Oh no... he called me an idiot," she mumbled to herself, remembering that 'idiot' was Tamahome's pet name for Miaka.  
  
Katherine suddenly remembered what happened in the series at this scene. An assassin in a black long robe would come and string up everyone in thick white ribbons; he would arrive any second now. "Tamahome! You need to get Yuiren out of here!" she shouted frantically, but everyone just stared at her, not knowing the motivation for her sudden outburst. Katherine grabbed Chuei's arm and started to run towards the door, hoping everyone would follow. "C'mon! Please you have to trust me on this! Everyone just needs to get outside!" she yelled. As she ran she felt Chichiri's hat flap against her back. She suddenly stopped, right in front of the doorway and let go of the boy's arm. She swiftly pulled the straw hat off and looked angrily at it. "OH SHIT-TAKE MUSHROOMS!" she screamed as she stomped her right foot into the ground. She ran out of the house, towards the pond. She had to get there before the assassins came for Christina; she needed this hat, otherwise Chichiri wouldn't come out and save her. She felt the dirt path move quickly beneath her feet as she sprinted to where her best friend was.  
  
Katherine finally saw the pond approaching her, but she couldn't see Christina anywhere. "Nononononononono," she muttered to herself as she picked up speed, hoping she would see her friend once she was closer. She stopped at the edge of the water and looked frantically around for Christina. "CHRISTINA! CHRISTINA!!! If this is some kind of joke it's not funny!" she shouted aimlessly into the forest. She waited a couple seconds hoping her friend would answer. She looked across the pond and into the dark forest, waiting for an answer. Any kind of answer, but silence filled the air. The priestess held the straw hat out in front of her and started to shake it violently up and down with both of her hands. "Chichiri!" she pleaded. "Come out! Come out! Wherever you are!" she chanted desperately. Suddenly a super-deformed Chichiri tumbled out of the hat and fell on his head.  
  
"That hurt no da," the blue-haired monk stated as he rubbed his head. He slowly stood up, now in normal form.  
  
"I'm sorry, but Christina's gone! I need you to sense her life force!" she anxiously begged.  
  
Chichiri lifted his hand up to his mouth with two fingers sticking up towards the sky. He closed his eyes and concentrated on the priestess's life force. "This is not good. She's in Kutou no da," he said sadly as he opened his eyes.  
  
To be continued...  
  
~*~  
  
Fushigi Akugi  
  
"I'll go get it," Christina volunteered. She grabbed the wooden bucket that was sitting outside the front door and ran off down the path towards where she hoped was a creek. After five minutes of jogging, she saw a lovely little stream before her. She knelt down and quickly filled the bucket with cool, clear water.  
  
"I feel almost like I'm Tamahome's wife," she said to herself. A look of horror fell across her face. "Oh sweet death, take me now!" she called as she dove into the stream.  
  
*  
  
"Are you big brother's wife?" the sick child asked Katherine curiously.  
  
"What?!" Katherine yelled as she took a step backwards, completely disgusted, "Hell no!"  
  
Tamahome was just as shocked and disturbed as Katherine. "Why would I want to marry this idiot?" he said, completely appalled at the idea.  
  
Katherine was horrified; she gasped as she put her hand over her mouth. "Oh no... he called me an idiot," she mumbled to herself, remembering that "idiot" was Tamahome's pet name for Miaka.  
  
"Oh happy dagger! This is thy sheath!' she yelled, quoting Shakespeare, as she downed the entire contents of the Tylenol®. 


	11. Episode 10: The Priestess of Seiryuu

Authors' Note: Hey everyone! Mrs. Tasuki and Nyan Nyan here! FINALLY! EPISODE TEN! Wow! ::both have big smiles:: Anywho, just wanted to say keep the reviews coming! And you should all visit our site! :: Holds up big sign that says 'COME TO MRS. TASUKI AND NYAN NYAN'S FUSHIGI YUUGI SHRINE!' The address is www.mrstasukiandnyannyan.tk':: You wont regret it! Anywho, we have TONS more stuff for the' fic! Character info, frequently asked questions, MUCH cooler backgrounds than white... OH YEAH! And we're going to be putting up pictures so you can all see Mrs. Tasuki's and Nyan Nyan's non-artistic ability! HOORAY! JOY AND RAPTURE! (Mrs. Tasuki had WAY too much cappuccino today  
  
So come flock to our site, 'cuz it's cool! Oh yeah, not to mention our chat rooms, shrines, forums, images, mailing lists, and other fun stuff! ~Mrs. Tasuki and Nyan Nyan~  
  
Episode 10:  
  
The Priestess of Seiryuu:  
  
By: Mrs. Tasuki and Nyan Nyan  
  
"Nakago, explain to me why there are two priestesses," the emperor ordered as he looked down at the blonde shogun from his throne.  
  
"I believe that only one of the Priestesses is the Priestess of Seiryuu. I think one is the Priestess of Suzaku."  
  
"Which one? We should dispose of her immediately!"  
  
"But," Nakago continued, "as of now, I'm not assured which one is the Priestess of Seiryuu."  
  
"Then how will we know?"  
  
"I'm sure we will know soon," Nakago replied over his shoulder as he walked out of the room and down a hall. "Two girls from another world, one must be the Priestess of Suzaku." He thought back to the first girl, "She must be the Priestess of Suzaku. She knows far too much about this world; she must have been here for a while." He turned a corner and walked up two flights of stairs and then down to the Priestesses' room. "I found the second girl back in that alley in the inner-city. I doubt she is the Priestess of Seiryuu, but the other one couldn't be our Priestess either because she knows so much. Miaka must be the Priestess of Seiryuu. But why would Seiryuu choose such a naive child?" He knocked and opened the door. "Lady Miaka?" he asked, "I must speak with you." The girl looked around in shock.  
  
"Lady?" she thought, almost giggling. Miaka got up from the table and walked out the door while Christina watched, confused. Christina narrowed her eyes at Nakago; she didn't trust him talking to Miaka. Miaka was trusting to the point of naivety. He glared back at her, and then led Miaka down the hallway.  
  
"Lady Miaka," he continued as they walked, "I want you to save Kutou."  
  
"Me?" she asked, dumbstruck. He wanted her to save a country?  
  
"Yes, I believe you are the one who will obtain the power of Seiryuu, and get three wishes."  
  
"So I really do get three wishes?" she asked as they turned a corner.  
  
"Yes, once you summon Seiryuu. Any three wishes you want."  
  
"I could eat my favorite food all the time! Or be the kind of girl who looks good in tight dresses! Or have any boy in school! Or even get into whatever high school I want!" she thought happily; then her merry thoughts turned into serious ones. "I could finally go home and see my family again," ever since she was drawn into this world it was one disaster after another. "I'll do it!" she told him, "I'll be the Priestess of Seiryuu."  
  
The gargantuan blue doors that towered before them opened and they walked inside. Miaka jumped when they slammed shut behind her. She looked around in wonder. They were in some sort of shrine. Rocks were placed around the huge room, and waterfalls tossed clear water into small, sparkling pools. A huge gilded statue of a dragon sat before them, its eyes sparkling blue sapphires. Miaka looked at the dragon, and it stared back ominously.  
  
"But there is one thing I must ask of you," Nakago said. "If the other girl, Christina, tries to leave Kutou; do not go with her. I think she wants to be the Priestess of Seiryuu, so she can have the three wishes. If she forces you to go, find some way to come here; I'll be waiting for you." Miaka nodded.  
  
*  
  
"I wonder what's wrong with Katherine," Nuriko said. He was sitting at a wooden table resting his chin his hand.  
  
"Who would know? She's always weird like this," Tamahome answered, kneeling by Yuiren, who was resting peacefully in her bed. She was looking better, and her fever was going down, but she was still sick.  
  
"But this time she seemed really upset," Nuriko replied as he stood up and walked toward the window.  
  
Just then Katherine barged through the doorway. "Christina's missing," she said as she gasped for air. "She... she's in Kutou," she continued as she pointed frantically outside.  
  
"What?!" Tamahome shouted in disbelief. He quickly stood up from the side of Yuiren's bed.  
  
"Why would she go there?!" Nuriko asked incredulously.  
  
"I dunno, to look for Yui?!" Katherine answered sarcastically. The two seishi looked her now shocked and confused by her last statement. She let out a sigh, now becoming very frustrated. "Never mind. The point is that Christina is in trouble!" Right then she noticed that something was missing. "Wait. You guys aren't in..." she started as she pointed aimlessly out in front of her. She was desperately trying to find the right words, but she couldn't. "You know... a human spider web... type thingy." She tried to process everything out. Katherine hated it if she couldn't figure something out; she was a very logical thinker. She sat down at a table where Nuriko was once sitting. "I'm so combuzzled," she muttered to herself as she buried her face in her hands.  
  
"What's a combuzzle?" Nuriko curiously asked.  
  
Katherine lifted her head up and roller her eyes. "Combuzzle means confused. Combuzzled, confused. Confused, combuzzled," she answered quickly.  
  
"Who are you?" Tamahome asked as he pointed to the strange blue-haired man behind Katherine who was smiling merrily.  
  
"I'm just a wandering traveler no da," he replied, with the same placid expression on his face.  
  
Katherine let out a long sigh. She didn't have time to let Chichiri hide the fact that he was one of the Suzaku Seven. "This is Chichiri," she said, exasperated, as she pointed to the monk, "he's one of the Suzaku Seven just like you two."  
  
"Really?! You mean you've already found the fourth one?" Nuriko replied excitedly, "this one looks kinds weird though," he mumbled as he looked at the smiling sei skeptically.  
  
"Better weird than gay no da," Chichiri said, secretly wishing that the purple-haired cross-dresser would stop looking at him so strangely.  
  
"That's it!" Katherine randomly exclaimed as she stood up from the table. "I'm going to Kutou! Sitting around here talking about which one of us is the biggest freak won't do any good!" she yelled, agitated, as she walked towards the door.  
  
"I'm going with you. It's too dangerous for you to go alone," Tamahome countered as he walked towards her.  
  
"Don't forget about me," Nuriko said quickly as he followed them both out the door way, but Katherine quickly turned around. Tamahome turned around after her to see what she was doing.  
  
"Nuriko, can ya do me a favor?" she asked. "Go back to the palace and tell Hotohori everything. I don't want to leave him in the dark," she pleaded as she slightly looked up at Nuriko.  
  
"Okay," he answered as he nodded. Katherine and Tamahome ran up to their horses and rode to the east.  
  
"Well, I ought to be going no da," Chichiri said out of the blue as he disappeared in his kasa. Nuriko looked at the hat in complete awe as it lay stranded on the floor.  
  
*  
  
"What is this ominous premonition?" Hotohori asked himself as he kneeled before the large golden phoenix. He had been praying in the Shrine of Suzaku every chance he could get. "I hope they're safe. Suzaku, our divine guardian, please protect your daughters, Katherine and Christina, the ones chosen to acquire your powers and to protect my country."  
  
*  
  
"Kutou? It's over that-a-way," a man, who was carrying a bag over his shoulder, instructed as he pointed down one of the dirt paths. "The forest over there is a short-cut, but it's a death trap," he continued as he pointed in a slightly different direction, towards the dark  
  
"Thank you sir," Katherine said politely from the top of her horse as the man walked off, continuing on his way. Just when he was out of hearing distance she turned to Tamahome. "Okay! Let's go!" she said excitedly as she trotted her horse towards the forest.  
  
"Didn't you just hear the man?!" Tamahome shouted after her, not believing that she was going to go through the dark, dense forest. "He said it was a death trap!" he continued to yell out of anger even though he had caught up with her and now riding by her side.  
  
"We need to get to Kutou ASAP. If we run into any animal you can just ax- kick it. And don't forget, I know Tae Kwon Do too," she replied smugly. She and Tamahome dismounted their horses and started to walk them into the forest, because it was too thick with trees and vines for them to have ride through it.  
  
*  
  
Joan was pacing around the house nervously anxiously waiting for Diana. She was 5'1" and for that Katherine always made fun of her, since she was one inch taller than her older sister. She had a sturdy built because she trained constantly for Tae Kwon Do, unlike Katherine who just did it for recreation. She had straight brunette hair, which fell down to the middle of her back. She looked down at her watch. It had been exactly thirteen minutes since she had called Diana. It was a fifteen minute drive between their homes, so Joan figured she would have to explain everything pretty soon.  
  
"I guess I better figure out what to tell her," Joan thought. She sighed loudly, trying to think of the best way to describe everything. "Okay, Katherine was sucked into the book when I dropped her off at the library today. She went to Konan, came back and we went to pick up Christina. We came back here, and they grabbed their stuff and got sucked into the Universe of the Four Gods where they became the Priestesses of Suzaku." Joan then reflected on what she had just said. "I sound like a crazy person," she laughed.  
  
Joan jumped up when she head a knock on the door. She ran over to the front door, opened it quickly and pushed the screen door open.  
  
Diana walked into the house. She was above the average height at 5'9" and had an extremely lean built. She was always wearing stylish glasses and had short brown hair with died blue tips. Physically, the two were complete opposites. "'Allo, bella," she said to Joan, using her trademark greeting. "What's up?"  
  
"Well, I'll have to explain everything first, but I'm a tad stressed out."  
  
They both walked to the living room and sat on the couch. Diana saw the book lying on the couch. "What's that?" she asked, pointing to the red book.  
  
"I'll tell you, but you have to promise to not interrupt me until I'm done explaining."  
  
"Okay..." Diana agreed hesitantly. Joan held the book up, but the title was facing away from Diana.  
  
"I guess it all started this morning. I dropped Katherine off at the library; she was going to stay there for three hours. Anyway, when I went to pick her up, she had this with her." She explained as she gestured towards the manuscript.  
  
"We drove over the Christina's house and Katherine ran down and got Christina to pack a whole bunch of stuff and then we drove back over here. Katherine went inside and brought out a lot of suitcases too. Turns out that this," Joan said while turning the book over so Diana could read the cover, "is the Universe of the Four Gods."  
  
"What!?" Diana interjected.  
  
"Listen to me! Katherine said she was taken to Konan for a few months and then traveled back. I wouldn't have believed this at all, but her clothes were all torn and bloody, and I really doubt she could have managed that in a library. But then she and Christina opened the book and they both got sucked in!"  
  
"Ha-ha," Diana started mockingly. "Not funny, hon."  
  
"I know!" Joan agreed, "Just read it!"  
  
Diana flipped to the front of the book and read the passage. "This is the story of the young girls who single-handedly gathered the Seven Stars of Suzaku and gained the power to make all their dreams come true. The story itself is an incantation and whomever reads it gains the main characters' powers to have their wishes granted. This is because once they turn the first page; the story will become real and begin."  
  
"See?" Joan asked.  
  
"Why does it say girls?" Diana asked.  
  
"Because Christina and Katherine are both Priestesses of Suzaku," she clarified.  
  
"This is a really great joke," Diana said in awe, "You guys must have put a lot of work into this. There are even pictures!"  
  
"I'm serious!" Joan said as she grabbed the book back. She flipped back to where she had left off. She stuck the book back under Diana's nose, so that she could see the words appearing on the page.  
  
"What the-" Diana mumbled as she read the emerging words. "Tamahome and the Lady Katherine had begun their journey to save the Lady Christina, who was prisoner in the palace of Kutou."  
  
"Read on, Tetsuya," Joan instructed.  
  
*  
  
Tamahome and Katherine came out of the forest extremely out of breath, but with only a few cuts and scratches on them. "So how many did you beat up?" Katherine asked, still gasping for air, as she mounted her horse.  
  
"Four tigers and a bear," Tamahome answered proudly from the top of his horse.  
  
"Awww man!" Katherine shouted disappointedly. "I only got one tiger and some psychopathic rabid raccoon that kept on chasing after me."  
  
"I win," Tamahome chimed as they continued to trot to Kutou.  
  
*  
  
Miaka looked over from the table, her mouth full of food. "Whatcha doin'?" she asked thickly. Christina was tying all the blue sheets from their beds together.  
  
"Getting out of this hellhole," Christina answered as she tied the last one on the chain. She tugged all of the knots, making sure they were secure. Christina walked over to the window and stuck her head out, making sure no one was watching. She quickly lowered the makeshift rope down to check the length. She made sure that there was enough slack to be able to tie it to one of the beds. She quickly yanked it back through the window, complaining about how she needed another sheet. Christina ran around the room, rummaging frantically in all the drawers and wardrobes. After looking through everything in sight, she looked under her bed in a last-ditch effort, hoping that it was her lucky day. Her hands searched under the bed until finally she grabbed the extra sheet that was underneath it.  
  
"Jackpot!" she exclaimed happily as she pumped her right arm through the air in victory. She tied her treasure onto the rest of the sheets and then put the cluster onto her bed and tried to make it look like a regular bunch of bedding.  
  
"Aren't you leaving now?" Miaka asked.  
  
"Not now, it's broad daylight!" Christina said, gesturing out the window. "I'm leaving tonight, I guess I could hitchhike back to Konan..." she supposed. "You coming?" she asked Miaka. She couldn't just leave Miaka in Kutou.  
  
"I dunno, three wishes seems pretty cool..." Miaka mumbled. Then she realized that Christina was the only person she actually knew, and she was going to that other country. Miaka didn't want to be all alone. "Yeah, I'll guess I'll come."  
  
*  
  
Tamahome and Katherine rode up to the Kutou border. Two guards dressed in blue armor stood sternly by the entrance. "Where are your passport papers?" once as they approached him.  
  
"Papers?" Tamahome questioned naively as he looked innocently at the sky.  
  
Katherine reached behind her and pulled a mini bookbag off of her back. It was exactly like Christina's except for her was crimson, whereas her friend's was black. She opened the zipper in the front and brought out her temps and the papers that came with it. She always kept them in the exact same spot, just to make sure she would never lose them. She signaled Tamahome to follow her horse closely as she trotted pass the two guards and help up the papers and the card for them to see, hoping that she and Tamahome would go by too fast for them to notice that the papers weren't official.  
  
"What the hell is that?" the second guard asked as he pointed at the several sheets of papers in Katherine's hand.  
  
"C'mon Tamahome, let's go!" Katherine shouted as she prepared her horse for a gallop, but the first guard was already standing in front of her, blocking the entrance. She could have easily passed him, but he was threatening her with his spear.  
  
"If you make one move, I'll-" he started, but then he suddenly became startled. Katherine looked at him strangely.  
  
*  
  
Christina didn't go to sleep that night; she knew she wouldn't have woken up in time to get away. Instead she stared out the window and looked to see where the guards were stationed so once she was out of the room, she wouldn't be recaptured. She usually had a very short attention span and was the worst at seriously concentrating at anything. But she had a feeling that she should probably pay close attention and do something right for a change. Every three hours the guards would be relieved and replaced by new sentries. There were only two guards she could see that would be a problem. One of the guards would turn a corner and wouldn't come back for ten minutes. The other sentry would disappear five minutes later and would also defer nearby for ten minutes. "So," she reasoned, "that gives us a five minute window." Christina decided that they would climb down while the guards were switching and then wait in the bushes below for ten minutes until the guards left.  
  
Christina looked through some of the clothes that had been laid out for her. She picked through the outfits until she came up with a pair of black pants and a black shirt that was edged in dark green. She slipped on a pair of small black slippers, hoping that they wouldn't fall off. Christina figured Miaka's outfit would be fine; she was still wearing her brown uniform, and brown was not the brightest color. Christina grabbed her little black bag and stuffed her old clothes in it. Then she walked over to Miaka's bed and gently nudged her until she woke up.  
  
"Time to go," Christina whispered. Miaka nodded solemnly and stood up. "We leave when the guards switch," Christina informed her roommate. They squinted through the darkness, trying to see new guards. Miaka tapped Christina's shoulder to get her attention and pointed below them. Two guards were walking towards the other two. Christina grabbed the sheets off of her bed and threw them out the open window. She quickly grabbed the bed sheet and started to rappel down the side of the palace. It was all too easy for Christina, because she loved to rock climb and rappelling down a three-story palace was no easy feat. The sheets ended about five feet from the ground, so Christina climbed down the rest of the bed linens until she hung by nothing but her hands and dropped easily to the dirt. As soon as she landed, she hugged the wall, trying to blend into the shadow. She looked over to the guards and breathed a sigh of relief. All four of them were chit-chatting.  
  
Christina looked up and saw Miaka's face looking down at her. She gestured her hand, hoping Miaka would spot her and figure out that it was her turn. Miaka hesitantly climbed out the window. She grabbed onto the bed sheets and slowly lowered herself down.  
  
"Hurry up," Christina hissed, "If you don't hurry up, I'm gonna leave without you." Miaka lowered herself quickly. She dropped into the bushes below with an "Ouch!"  
  
"Shhhh," Christina warned.  
  
"Now what?" Miaka asked. Christina didn't answer and both of the girls ducked into the bushes for cover as the two relieved guards swaggered back to the palace.  
  
"Now we wait," Christina answered, "As soon as the second guard leaves, we run."  
  
*  
  
The guard seemed as though he had frozen. Tamahome looked at Katherine, as though he thought that she had done it. Katherine shrugged and they continued through the gate. Suddenly, a man wearing blue armor that was decorated with dragons rode in front of them.  
  
"What is the problem?" he asked one of the guards.  
  
"I... I can't move!" the guard said through clenched teeth.  
  
"Oh?" the man on the horse wondered, "A spell? How weak."  
  
The soldiers could soon move. Nakago turned his gaze to Katherine and Tamahome. Katherine glanced over at Tamahome. Suddenly the man wearing the blue armor looked stiff. Katherine and Tamahome quickly rode past him and towards the palace.  
  
After navigating through the city, they found their way to the palace. They rode into the courtyard and dismounted off of their horses. They proceeded to sneak around until they found a soldier.  
  
*  
  
Christina and Miaka waited for ten more minutes, trying to breathe quietly and not move. The first guard disappeared and Christina sighed with relief. "Five more minutes," she whispered happily.  
  
Five minutes later, the second guard disappeared. Miaka looked at Christina, who nodded back. They burst out of the bushes and started sprinting as fast as they could. Christina hoped that the Kutou palace grounds were exactly the same as their counterparts in Konan. Christina and Miaka turned a corner and ran down the stairs. Then they ran left and turned a corner to where Christina hoped the main gate would be. They saw a wall in front of them, and a cluster of guards standing in front of it. They quickly slid to the side and crouched down in the shadows, hoping that they weren't spotted.  
  
"What do we do?" Miaka whispered.  
  
"I dunno..." Christina mouthed back. Then, salvation came. A guard ran up to the group and yelled for their attention.  
  
"The Suzaku Seven have infiltrated the palace!" he bellowed. The guards looked at each other, surprised. They all grabbed their spears, which were lying in a corner, and ran back to the palace.  
  
"So should we go back to the palace?" Christina thought, "Or just run?"  
  
"I know where to go," Miaka said, "I remember." Christina looked at Miaka strangely, not sure whether or not to trust her. Miaka stood up and ran; Christina had no choice but to follow. Miaka stopped in front of a pair of huge doors.  
  
She looked back at Christina, "We should go in here." Christina looked at her in disbelief.  
  
"Uh-uh, I'm not goin' in there!" she said as she started to back up.  
  
*  
  
"What?!" Hotohori exclaimed as he swiftly rose from his throne. "Katherine and Christina are in Kutou!" he shouted at Nuriko in disbelief.  
  
"Yes, your majesty. I must apologize for my incompetence," Nuriko sadly replied while kneeling before the emperor in his office.  
  
"Bring me my horse at once!" Hotohori ordered his advisors.  
  
"Highness, what are you planning to do?!" an elderly advisors standing beside him inquired.  
  
"I'm going to bring them back!" Hotohori angrily answered as he turned to the advisor.  
  
"Out of the question!" the advisor hollered back, "The emperor can't go into enemy nation by himself."  
  
"But if anything happens to Katherine..." Hotohori said, not wanting to finish his sentence.  
  
"Please calm yourself! Do you want us to start this war?!" the advisor continued as he desperately tried to stop the emperor.  
  
"I understand... I don't know what possessed me," Hotohori said with a sigh as he sat back down in his throne.  
  
"Give orders to the soldiers and give them fast horses! They must retrieve the Priestesses of Suzaku!" the advisor instructed several guards who were standing silently by the doorway. The guards nodded sharply and quickly departed.  
  
*  
  
Tamahome grabbed the guard and put his arm around the man's neck, threatening to suffocate him. "W... what do you want?" the guard gasped.  
  
"Where are they keeping Christina?" he asked.  
  
"Y... you mean the priestesses?" he wheezed.  
  
"YES!" Tamahome yelled, "Take us there."  
  
The guard pointed up the stairs that were before them. All three of them climbed the stairs and ran down the halls.  
  
"It's that one," the guard said shakily, pointing to the door in front of them. Tamahome lifted up his hand and struck the guard in the neck. The man fell to the ground, unconscious.  
  
Tamahome and Katherine burst into the room and looked around for Christina. Katherine spotted something blowing in the wind by the window. She walked over to the windowpane and lifted up the chain of sheets that was trailing out the window. Katherine threw the sheets on the floor in frustration. She lifted her arms up and asked loudly, "WHY CAN'T SHE JUST BE A DAMSEL!? WHY DOES SHE HAVE TO GO AND ESCAPE INSTEAD OF WAITING IN THE STUPID ROOM!?"  
  
To Be Continued...  
  
AN2: Sorry we didn't clarify this earlier. The Universe of the Four Gods was translated into English, just like it said in our summary. But there is also a Universe of the Four Gods in Japan, which Miaka found and was drawn into. 


	12. Episode 11: Torn Love

Authors' note: We are just gonna make some random statements in this authors' note. Statement #1: We can not update our site for the time being (stupid geocities) so please remain patient with us. We will inform you ASAP once we can update again. Until that joyous day you can still visit it and see what we have started. Once again it is www.mrstasukiandnyannyan.tk Statement #2: Please realize that there are two of us. We are not some guy with a multiple-personality disorder. Statement #3: We would love it if you could IM us! Our screen names are mrstasuki57 and nyannyan321. It would be really cool if you could talk to us about what you think of the fic!  
  
~Mrs. Tasuki and Nyan Nyan~  
  
Episode 11:  
  
Torn Love  
  
By: Nyan Nyan and Mrs. Tasuki  
  
Diana and Joan were still seated on the couch, and Joan was reading over Diana's shoulder.  
  
"How much time did you spend on this, really?" Diana asked quietly.  
  
"Huh?" Joan asked, confused.  
  
"I mean it must have taken a while... to write this out and everything. This is one awesome practical joke."  
  
Joan looked at her, completely shocked. "Why don't you believe me!?"  
  
Diana gave Joan a look of skepticism, astounded that Joan would think she was so stupid. Joan looked back flabbergasted. She tried desperately to think of some way to prove it to her friend.  
  
"Okay... so it's hard to believe, but..." she stalled as she dismissed a million bad ideas. Suddenly, she thought of the way to verify that everything was true to Diana. "Here!" she yelled as she flipped a few pages forward. She shoved the book under Diana's nose. Diana looked onto the page and saw words appearing on the page.  
  
"Wow..." Diana whispered.  
  
"So do you believe me now?" Joan asked.  
  
"No," Diana answered, still amazed, "but it's pretty cool how you get it to do that. Especially since anything mechanical you touch breaks." Joan let out an exasperated sigh.  
  
*  
  
"Why not?" Miaka asked. Christina looked up at the huge blue doors. There was no doubt about it... that was the Shrine of Seiryuu.  
  
"Oh no, that place reeks of bad karma," Christina explained quickly.  
  
"What?" Miaka, starting to raise her voice.  
  
They both turned at the noise of guards behind them. Luckily, none of them saw the two girls. "Be quiet!" Christina ordered in a loud whisper as they quickly scurried down a different hallway.  
  
"We should go find my friends..." Christina quietly suggested, looking around for more soldiers.  
  
"No, you go ahead, I'll stay here," Miaka replied with much self- confidence. Christina narrowed her eyes at Miaka, beginning to seriously not trust her.  
  
"Fine, but don't move a muscle. I'll be back soon, okay?" Christina said softly. She didn't have time to question Miaka; she had to find her friends. Miaka nodded. Christina ran off towards the palace, trying not to make too much noise.  
  
As soon as Christina had left, the colossal doors to the Shrine of Seiryuu opened and Miaka walked into the darkness inside.  
  
Christina ran through the shadows towards the palace and bounded over the railing that surrounded the hallways. She stealthily walked down the hallways of the palace, hoping that the hallways were exactly the same as the palace in Konan. She turned down a corner and saw about a dozen doors on the sides of the hall. She dared to peek into the first door on the left. Inside was an unconscious soldier leaning on a table. He had one horrible black eye. Christina then peered into the next door and saw two soldiers with big bruises on their heads, also knocked out. When she saw the path of destruction she was sure that Tamahome and Katherine had been down this hallway. A few doors and a few unconscious soldiers later, Christina was still checking all the rooms, not daring to let her guard down. She looked into the room and saw about twenty guards inside. She slowly stepped backwards so they wouldn't see her, but her foot landed on a creaky floorboard.  
  
The guards inside whipped their heads around to see where the noise had come from. Two soldiers walked out of the room and looked around, spotting a girl right outside the doorframe. She took one look at the guards and bolted down the hallway.  
  
"Get her!" the second guard yelled inside the room. The group of soldiers grabbed their spears and sprinted down the hallway.  
  
*  
  
Christina ran as fast as she could. Every once in a while she would glance behind her, to see if she had lost the guards, but they were always behind her. They probably would have caught her earlier, if their armor wasn't so heavy. Christina was finding it very difficult to simultaneously think of a plan to escape from the twenty men behind her and run from the same twenty men at the same time. Then, an idea hit her. She turned a corner and ran up the flight of stairs that, she hoped, led to her room.  
  
"If I got there early enough, I can climb down the sheets again and that'd give me enough time to lose 'em!" she thought. She ran down the hall and tried to catch a glance into each one, searching for her room.  
  
*  
  
Tamahome decided to give Katherine a few minutes to calm down. She was scary when she was stressed out. Katherine clenched her fists and let out a loud, exasperated sigh.  
  
"Don't let her get away!" a faint voice yelled from down the corridor. Tamahome and Katherine looked out the door to see Christina running down the hallway, followed by a flock of about twenty men.  
  
"Christina!" Katherine yelled as she started to run out the door. Tamahome grabbed her before she could get out the door.  
  
"Don't go that way you idiot!" he warned.  
  
"What did you just call me?" Katherine asked, not believing he just called her by Miaka's pet name again.  
  
"An idiot," he answered.  
  
"Don't call me that. Ever. You can call me a moron, a jerk, or even a bitch. Just don't call me an idiot."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Just don't. Just please don't." she answered shortly.  
  
"Okay..." Tamahome said, still confused. "But here, go this way," he said while turning in the other direction and motioning for Katherine to follow him.  
  
*  
  
Christina continued running down the hallway. She was beginning to slow down after running for ten minutes straight. She abruptly felt someone grab her by the waist and drag her into a room on her right. She was about to kick whoever grabbed her until she saw Tamahome and Katherine staring back at her.  
  
"Hey," Katherine greeted.  
  
"KATHERINE!" Christina yelled as she hugged her friend.  
  
"What about me?" Tamahome asked.  
  
"Hey Tama," Christina said quickly. "Katherine, you will not believe who I found here!"  
  
"Who?" Katherine asked excitedly.  
  
"Our worst nightmare."  
  
"Tamahome's right behind me," Katherine pointed out.  
  
"Hey!" Tamahome shouted.  
  
"No, worse!" Christina continued.  
  
"You don't mean..." Katherine said as Christina nodded. "No! Not her!" she yelled while Christina kept nodding. "That SUCKS!" Katherine shouted. Tamahome just looked at the two priestesses, completely lost in their conversation.  
  
"Tell me about it, I was stuck here with her."  
  
"So where is she?" Katherine asked in an agitated manner.  
  
"I left her by the Seiryuu Shrine."  
  
"YOU MORON!" Katherine screamed as she hit Christina on her head.  
  
"HEY! That hurt!" Christina yelled back.  
  
"Well, duh! That's why I did it!" she yelled as Christina rubbed her head. Katherine just glared at her friend, not believing that she wasn't making the obvious connection between Miaka and the Seiryuu shrine. "So you left Miaka... alone... by the Seiryuu shrine... with Nakago around?"  
  
"Holy shit!" Christina realized.  
  
"You're a quick one, aren't you?"  
  
"I'd probably be smarter if someone didn't hit me so often!" Christina shouted as they ran out of the room, followed by a thoroughly befuddled Tamahome.  
  
*  
  
Katherine, Christina, and Tamahome had just arrived outside the Shrine of Seiryuu when the massive doors opened and Miaka stepped out. Christina ran up to her, with Tamahome and Katherine right behind her.  
  
"Why were you in there?" Christina asked.  
  
"To... umm... to hide from some guards," Miaka answered too slowly.  
  
"That's bullshit," Christina said, but Miaka just ignored her.  
  
"Who are you?" Tamahome asked Miaka. Christina sighed angrily. This was not the time for introductions.  
  
"Tamahome, Miaka. Miaka, Tamahome. Katherine, Miaka. Miaka, Katherine," she said quickly, while pointing everyone out. Miaka stared at Tamahome; in her opinion he was really good-looking. "Anyway, we should really-" Christina started. But she was interrupted by the twenty guards that had finally caught up with her.  
  
"There's the intruder!" one of the many men yelled. Katherine, Christina, Tamahome, and Miaka looked at each other, hoping that someone had an idea.  
  
"RUN!" Christina yelled as everyone split up. Tamahome ran in one direction, followed affectionately by Miaka. Katherine and Christina took off in another.  
  
*  
  
Christina finally stopped in front of the main gate and turned to make sure Katherine was behind her. They both looked around for Miaka and Tamahome.  
  
"Big surprise, they couldn't find the main gate," Christina said through her gasps for breath. Christina and Katherine waited for a few minutes before deciding to go look for Tamahome and Miaka.  
  
"Okay... I'll bet she's in the palace trying to find some food," Katherine said to Christina as they started to run again.  
  
*  
  
"Where are you going?' Tamahome whispered as Miaka ran into a random room. He followed her into the area and found her shoveling as much food into her mouth as fast as she could. "We... uh... we really don't have time for this," he tried to explain, "We have to hurry and get back to Konan." She finished eating and reluctantly walked with Tamahome back outside.  
  
"Well, why don't you stay here with me?" Miaka asked hopefully as they left the kitchen. Tamahome was about to answer when a tall blonde man walked into the room. "Hey Nakago!" Miaka yelled while Tamahome shushed her.  
  
"Lady Miaka, you should return to your room," Nakago suggested, even though it sounded more like an order.  
  
"Do I have to?" she whined, "I'd rather go with him!"  
  
Nakago looked over at the boy, sizing him up. He turned to Miaka. "Lady Miaka, he is one of the Suzaku Seven, your enemies." Tamahome assumed a fighting stance and his mark began to shine.  
  
"The mark of ogre," Nakago said, more to himself than anyone else. "You must be Tamahome."  
  
Tamahome jumped towards Nakago, trying to kick the general. Tamahome landed on the ground a second later and grabbed his leg in pain. "He's good..." he thought; he hadn't even seen Nakago move. Nakago walked over to Miaka and whispered something into her ear. He grabbed her wrist and led her away, with Miaka looking over her shoulder at Tamahome. A few minutes later, Christina and Katherine ran up to Tamahome.  
  
"Are you okay?" Christina asked as Tamahome stood up from the cold stone ground.  
  
"Yeah, but that bastard took Miaka."  
  
"This is SUCH A PAIN!" Katherine whined.  
  
"He probably took her to the Shrine of Seiryuu," Christina said.  
  
"I don't know about you, but I'm not going in there," Katherine said.  
  
A muffled scream came from behind her. A soldier had grabbed Christina from behind and put his spear threateningly against her neck. When Katherine had turned around, a guard also grabbed her. The two girls could only watch while various guards tried to capture Tamahome. It took about five men, but they eventually secured him.  
  
The guards dragged the trio back towards the Shrine of Seiryuu. It was quite a production to carry them across the palace grounds, since none of them gave in very easily. Christina was trying to kick the guard behind her in the face. Katherine was able to jab her elbow into the guard's ribcage, causing the guard to let go in pain, but shortly after she was free two more guards took a hold of her. Tamahome knocked out a few soldiers, but more men came to fill in their fallen comrades places. Eventually, Christina, Katherine, and Tamahome were behind the doors of the Seiryuu Shrine once more. They were brought into the Shrine and tossed onto the floor. The guards quickly filed out and the doors shut behind them.  
  
Chichiri stationed himself on the roof of a different part of the palace and watched soldiers come out of the Shrine and closed the doors.  
  
Tamahome, Katherine, and Christina slowly got to their feet and looked around. Nakago stepped out of the shadows, with Miaka right behind him. Christina felt her body become numb, like her whole body was falling asleep. Christina looked over at Katherine and saw that she was feeling the same lethargy she was feeling.  
  
"Until Lady Miaka summons Seiryuu, no one must interfere," he said coldly. A blue mark lit up his forehead as he threw a blue ki-blast towards the two priestesses. It burned their skin upon contact and flung them a few feet away. "You are a threat to Lady Miaka's summoning Seiryuu, a threat to this country as well. You will never return to Konan," he continued. The blue symbol lit up his forehead again and Christina was hurled across the room. Right before she hit the wall, she stopped in mid-air. Chichiri appeared; he was holding Christina. Miaka stood by Nakago completely terrified as she watched Nakago, her savior, almost kill someone.  
  
"That was pretty close no da," he told her. "If you'd hit the wall at that speed, you'd have died no da."  
  
Nakago looked down at Chichiri's knee, where his seishi symbol was glowing. "A servant of Suzaku who can break the barrier and enter here," he skeptically said. "Ah, now I see. You were the one who cast that spell on me before," he said to Chichiri, referring to the incident at the Kutou Border Gate.  
  
"You got it, no da!" Chichiri answered.  
  
Tamahome took his chance to run across the room and punch Nakago in the stomach. Nakago was thrown back a few feet, and he skidded to a halt and kneeled on the floor.  
  
Suddenly, Chichiri put two fingers up to his face and created an explosion. The huge pillars crashed into the pools of water and onto the ground. Tamahome quickly grabbed Katherine and shielded her from the blast. Nakago did the very same for Miaka. The dust and smoke was so thick it clouded everyone's vision. After most of the dust had cleared, Chichiri gently placed Christina onto the floor. Katherine and Tamahome rushed over to her.  
  
"Are you alright?" Tamahome asked.  
  
Chichiri responded by taking his hat off and handed it to Tamahome. "Tamahome, get into this hat with Katherine and Christina, no da," he told him. "It'll take you to them, no da."  
  
"'Them' who?" he asked while taking the kasa from Chichiri.  
  
"Now! While I delay this guy, no da!" he ordered. Nakago sent another blast towards them. Chichiri held his arms out in front of him and halted the blast. "Hurry no da!"  
  
"Come with us!" Tamahome yelled to Miaka, but she did nothing. "Hurry!" he yelled urgently as Katherine climbed into the kasa.  
  
"You musn't!" Nakago ordered as a sent a blast towards Tamahome and Christina. Chichiri moved over and blocked the blast.  
  
"Would you go already, no da!? I'll be right behind you no da!" Chichiri shouted. Nakago sent another blast towards Chichiri. Chichiri sank to the ground, and his smiling mask slipped off of his face.  
  
"Chichiri!" Tamahome yelled.  
  
"Get going no da!" Chichiri repeated as Christina climbed into the hat.  
  
"I swear I'll come back and save you," Tamahome vowed to Miaka as he followed Christina into the kasa. Chichiri grabbed his kasa and lifted it over his head.  
  
"Well then, time to say goodbye, no da," he told Nakago and Miaka as he dropped the hat over himself. The kasa dropped to the floor, leaving Miaka and Nakago alone in the wreckage of the Shrine of Seiryuu.  
  
*  
  
"No! Really! I wanna know! Is it like invisible ink? Does it like appear over time or something?" Diana asked Joan.  
  
"IT'S NOT INVISIBLE INK!" Joan shouted. "I'M TELLING THE TRUTH!"  
  
Diana sighed and continued to read the book. "The Suzaku Seven were not defeated by Seiryuu, but they did not triumph either."  
  
*  
  
Christina felt someone gently shaking her shoulders and heard a voice calling her name. She quickly sat up, remembering that she was fighting Nakago in the Shrine of Seiryuu, and saw Tamahome leaning over her. He looked down at her chest and blushed. Christina was too busy looking around, trying to figure out where they were. She was sitting in a big white bed in the middle of an endless large room, featureless except for a door a few feet away. Christina looked back to Tamahome and, seeing that he was looking at her, gasped in surprise as she realized she wasn't wearing anything. She quickly pulled the white sheets over herself.  
  
Katherine woke up, groggily looked over to the left of where she was sleeping, and saw Tamahome practically lying on Christina. She noticed Tamahome was wearing nothing but a white sheet, which Christina was also covered in. "AHHHHHH!" she screamed at the sight before her, shattering the silence. Tamahome and Christina both jumped and turned their heads at the loud noise.  
  
"What!?" Tamahome yelled back at Katherine.  
  
"What are you DOING!?" Christina shrieked at Tamahome, still struggling to cover herself up.  
  
"I just woke up, and we were all wearing nothing!" he protested angrily.  
  
"Well, you don't have to molest Christina, just cuz' we're not wearing anything!" Katherine yelled as she whacked him upside the head. Christina and Katherine both scooted to the edges of the bed, leaving Tamahome in the middle of the mattress. All three started to fight over the sheet, desperately trying to cover themselves.  
  
"What about me!?" Tamahome yelled, "I need the sheet too!"  
  
"Use a pillow!" Christina yelled back as she pulled on the sheet.  
  
"Hey!" Katherine yelled, struggling to retain her corner of the cloth.  
  
Suddenly the doors burst open and Taiitsukun, followed by Chichiri and a pack of Nyan Nyans, floated into the room. Christina took one look at Taiitsukun and hid behind Tamahome. "FREDDY KRUEGER!" she screamed.  
  
"Taiitsukun?" Katherine asked.  
  
"Chichiri?" Tamahome questioned.  
  
"It's been awhile, Katherine, Tamahome. Chichiri arrived here unexpectedly with you three covered in wounds," Taiitsukun explained in a scratchy voice.  
  
"Katherine! Long time no see!" one of the Nyan Nyans called happily.  
  
"Your wounds were fairly light, so it didn't take long for me to-" she continued.  
  
"Heal them! Heal them!" another Nyan Nyan interjected.  
  
"Mend your clothes! Mend your clothes!" yet another Nyan Nyan added.  
  
"Oh...! I can't get a word in edgewise!" Taiitsukun yelled as Tamahome hid behind a pillow and the Nyan Nyans ran from the room.  
  
Chichiri handed Katherine her clothes and then walked around to the other side of the bed, where Christina and Tamahome were still cowering in fear and gave them their garments.  
  
"Thanks Chichiri!" Christina said happily.  
  
"Yeah, thanks!" Katherine agreed.  
  
"How do you know about Mt. Taikyoku, Chichiri?" Tamahome asked.  
  
"Well," Chichiri answered, taking off his mask, "I've been training here for about three years, no da."  
  
After they had put their clothes back on, Tamahome, Christina, and Katherine followed Chichiri down a hallway to the exit. Halfway down the corridor, Taiitsukun popped down from the ceiling. Katherine, Tamahome, and Christina all grabbed onto Chichiri.  
  
"I'm scared!" Tamahome cried.  
  
"It's like Night of the Living Dead!" Katherine cowered.  
  
"Or Nightmare on Elm Street!" Christina trembled.  
  
"I've been here for three years, so I'm used to her looks no da," Chichiri explained as they continued down the corridor.  
  
"Bye, Taiitsukun!" Christina called, still not looking her in the face.  
  
"Bye, Nyan Nyans!" Katherine called as they all piled into the new kasa that Taiitsukun had given him, "See ya later!"  
  
*  
  
Hotohori was sitting on his throne when he heard a collection of voices entering the next room. "Guess who!" Katherine cheerfully called into the room as she, Tamahome, Christina, and a strange-looking man with bright blue hair entered the room. Hotohori rushed down from his throne and hugged Katherine tightly.  
  
"Thank goodness," he breathed. "You're alright!"  
  
"I missed you so much!" Katherine told Hotohori.  
  
Christina just looked at the two, watching Katherine and Hotohori make the perfect couple gave her hope about herself and Tasuki. "Oh yeah," she remembered, "Hotohori, this is Chichiri."  
  
"Da!" Chichiri greeted Hotohori. Nuriko ran into the room and hugged Christina and Katherine.  
  
"Nuriko!" they both said happily as all three of them turned around and walked out of the room, gossiping happily.  
  
"So what happened?" Nuriko asked as they turned a corner.  
  
*  
  
After explaining everything to Nuriko, they all sat down to dinner. "So there's a Priestess of Seiryuu?" Nuriko asked.  
  
"Can we talk about someone else?" Katherine asked tired from everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours.  
  
"Yeah, I'm eating," Christina joked as she made a face of disgust.  
  
After dinner, Katherine and Christina were faced with an immense problem: what to do for the rest of the night.  
  
*  
  
Katherine and Christina decided to brainstorm in Katherine's room until they thought of something. "So what do you wanna do tonight Katherine?" Christina asked.  
  
"I dunno," she shrugged, "do you have any good ideas?" The girls thought very hard, dismissing ideas as soon as they came into their heads.  
  
"OH!" Christina shouted. "Light bulb!"  
  
"What?" Katherine asked. Christina ran down the hallway to her own room, and Katherine had no choice but to follow. Christina opened one of her boxes and started rummaging through piles of CD's and batteries. She finally pulled out what looked like a big walkman.  
  
"Listen to music?" Katherine said.  
  
"Nope," Christina said slyly while flipping the top open to reveal a screen. "I borrowed my brother's portable DVD player."  
  
"WE COULD HAVE A MOVIE MARATHON!" Katherine said. Then a problem struck her mind. "You did bring DVD's, didn't you?"  
  
"Well, DUH!" Christina answered as she brought out a huge collection of movies. "Should we watch scary movies, or funny movies, or action movies, or sad movies?"  
  
"I feel in the mood for a CHICK-FLICK MARATHON!" Katherine yelled as she jumped to her feet. Christina quickly pulled out a dozen movies.  
  
"But where to have it?" Christina asked out loud while bringing her hand to her chin.  
  
"What about my room?" Katherine suggested. "All the food's in there anyway."  
  
"OK!" Christina said as she grabbed a heavy duffel bag and started to drag it, along with the DVD player and movies, to Katherine's room.  
  
"What's in the bag?" Katherine inquired.  
  
"My stash," Christina replied as she unzipped the bag to reveal what looked like a lifetime's supply of candy and chocolate. Katherine smiled and went to get her own provisions.  
  
Soon Katherine's room resembled the perfect slumber party. Bags of candy surrounded the bed, which was covered in so many blankets that it was a good foot higher than it used to be. The DVD player sat on a nightstand in front of the bed and, for once, Christina was extremely glad that her parents spoiled her brother and bought him a DVD player which an extra large screen.  
  
"Hey, do you think someone else wants to watch with us?" Katherine asked. Christina nodded and they walked out into the hallway, trying to decide who would want to come to their 'sleepover'. They looked down the hallways and saw Nuriko walking into his room.  
  
"Hey Nuriko!" Christina called. The sei looked over and walked towards the priestesses.  
  
"What?" he asked sleepily.  
  
"Do you wanna watch some movies with us?" Christina asked while Katherine nodded.  
  
"Movies?" Nuriko questioned.  
  
"Yeah! We're having a chick flick marathon and thought you might wanna come."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Just come with us," Katherine said as they pulled Nuriko towards Katherine's room.  
  
*  
  
Soon Nuriko, Christina, and Katherine were lying on the bed and eating chocolate. Christina put a DVD in the player.  
  
"What's that?" Nuriko said while pointing at the DVD player.  
  
"You'll see," Katherine answered.  
  
"Oh yeah," Christina said, realizing how confused Nuriko would become as soon as the DVD player turned on. "No one on the screen is real, they're just pretending so that they can tell the story realistically." She guessed that was the best way she could explain it.  
  
The screen turned on and turned bright blue while Nuriko watched in awe. The words 'SONY DVD' flashed across the screen. The menu popped up and Christina pressed 'PLAY' on her remote. Pearl Harbor started to play.  
  
"What is this?" Nuriko asked  
  
"Cool huh?" Christina asked. The words "This is based on a true story" appeared on the screen.  
  
"What does that say?" Nuriko asked.  
  
"Oh yeah! Sorry, we forgot that we have different letters," Katherine said.  
  
"It just said that the movie is based on a true story," Christina explained, "because the movie is based on Pearl Harbor, which was a battle in World War Two."  
  
Utterly lost, Nuriko decided the easiest thing would be to go along with the girls and not question their mention of a nonexistent war. "Oh," he said. Then they turned their heads back to the screen and to watch the movie.  
  
*  
  
Tamahome woke up to loud crying through the walls in his room. He slowly got out of bed, wondering where the sobbing was coming from. He padded down the hallway and stopped outside Katherine's room. The weeping was definitely coming from inside her room. He slowly pushed open the door and saw Christina, Nuriko, and Katherine sitting on Katherine's bed and sobbing. They were all bathed in an odd, bright glow that was coming from the box sitting on the table. Christina had tears running down her face and Nuriko was shredding the tissue in his hands as tears filled his eyes.  
  
"I always cry when you see that they named him after Danny!" Christina wept.  
  
"I LOVE Josh Hartnett!" Katherine cried.  
  
"That was so SAD!" Nuriko sobbed.  
  
"What happened to you guys?" Tamahome asked.  
  
"Oh, hi Tamahome," Christina sniffled as she looked up at him. "We're just watching a movie."  
  
"A what?" he asked.  
  
"Never mind," Katherine said as she wiped her eyes.  
  
"It's like a play," Nuriko explained sadly.  
  
"A play made you cry?" he chuckled.  
  
"It was a GOOD play!" Nuriko countered.  
  
"You're so insensitive!" Christina yelled through her tears as she threw an empty DVD box at his head. He quickly sidestepped the box.  
  
"Tamahome get out! No boys allowed!" Katherine shouted.  
  
"What do you call that?" Tamahome said, pointing towards Nuriko.  
  
"He doesn't count!" Christina replied angrily.  
  
"Fine then, I'll leave you to your tear-fest," he said jokingly as he walked out of the room.  
  
"What movie should we watch next?" Katherine said.  
  
"What about A Little Princess? That ALWAYS makes me cry," Christina suggested. Katherine reached down and picked up the new DVD to put it in the player.  
  
To be continued...  
  
~*~  
  
(When we were writing the end of this episode and Christina mentioned how she was bringing her "stash" to Katherine's room, we thought that it kinda sounded like she was bringing a stash of drugs... SO HERE'S A FUSHIGI AKUGI ABOUT THAT!)  
  
FUSHIGI AKUGI  
  
"I feel in the mood for a CHICK-FLICK MARATHON!" Katherine yelled as she jumped to her feet. Christina quickly pulled out a dozen movies.  
  
"But where to have it?" Christina asked out loud while bringing her hand to her chin.  
  
"What about my room?" Katherine suggested. "All the food's in there anyway."  
  
"OK!" Christina said as she grabbed a heavy duffel bag and started to drag it, along with the DVD player and movies, to Katherine's room.  
  
"What's in the bag?" Katherine inquired.  
  
"My stash," Christina replied as she unzipped the bag to reveal a mound of green pot, some lighters and pipes, and some hits of acid.  
  
*  
  
"This is gooooddd... stuff..." Christina commented.  
  
"Can you believe I've never had mari-ju-wana before?" Katherine asked.  
  
"I'm dizzy..." Nuriko added.  
  
"Whoa no da... no da... no da..." Chichiri said.  
  
"How'd you get here Chichiri?" Christina asked.  
  
"I don't know no da... da." 


	13. Episode 12: Happy Birthday

Author's Note: (Nyan Nyan) I dedicate this episode to... ME! Now I know that this may sound selfish, but I'm the one working my butt off to write this fanfic and post it in a timely manner. So, don't I deserve an episode dedication too?! *snuffles* OF COURSE I DO! *big smiley face* Now... don't get me wrong I'm not saying that I do all the work and Mrs. Tasuki does nothing, cause that couldn't be farther from the truth. So, Mrs. Tasuki will dedicate an episode to herself later on. This just happens to be my favorite episode so far. So "Yay!" to me! ~Nyan Nyan~  
  
AN 2: Lots of people want to see some romance between Katherine and Hotohori, and, frankly, we do too. AND OUR WISHES HAVE BEEN GRANTED!!! *we can party now*. Now unlike Fushigi Yuugi, some episodes' main purpose are to have some more character development and to make the readers laugh and actually don't have any action or suspense. There won't be many because we don't want to bore the readers. So if this episode is boring and uneventful, please leave a review telling us so. We are very curious to know what you think of it; since it is the first episode that we wrote doesn't follow the basic story line of Fushigi Yuugi at all. ~Mrs. Tasuki and Nyan Nyan~  
  
Episode 12:  
  
Happy Birthday  
  
By: Mrs. Tasuki and Nyan Nyan  
  
"Wake up, sleepy-head!" Katherine chimed in Hotohori's ear. The priestess stood beside the emperor's bed, waiting anxiously for him to make some kind of response.  
  
Hotohori rolled on his side with his eyes still closed. "Katherine, what's wrong?" he asked, knowing that it must be something important if she was awake before he was.  
  
"Nothings wrong, you moron," she replied jokingly as she casually rolled her eyes. "It's your birthday!" she continued gleefully.  
  
"What are you talking about?" Hotohori asked groggily, still somewhat asleep. He squinted his eyes, trying focus on Katherine. She was wearing red tank top with a pair of jean capris.  
  
"You know. April second. Your birthday. The day of your birth," Katherine replied quickly. She had the tendency to jam all her words together when she was excited about something. She gave the sleepy emperor a second to let everything sink in. "C'mon! Wake up!" she pleaded once she realized that he was starting to fall back asleep.  
  
Hotohori finally moved his legs to the side of the bed, about to stand up. "No, no, no, no, no," the priestess said rapidly as she waved both of her hands in front of her. "You stay right here. I have a surprise for you," she continued cheerfully. She turned around to the table around her and seemed to fiddle around with something. "I always told myself that once I got a boyfriend I would treat him like a king on his birthday, but you already took care of that part. So instead I made you..." She then paused purposefully for dramatic effect. "Breakfast-in-bed!" she said merrily as she picked up a tray and quickly turned around.  
  
"Breakfast-in-bed?" Hotohori repeated as he looked curiously at the tray, which had a variety of strange food on it.  
  
"Yeah!" she exclaimed as she put the tray on his lap. "I made you some food from my world, scrambled eggs and pancakes! There isn't any maple syrup in this world, and, frankly, I don't know how you guys can live without maple syrup. Anyways, so instead I used peach preservatives," she rambled, which was something else Katherine did when she was excited about something. She then noticed that Hotohori was looking around the tray for something. "What's wrong?" she asked as she sat down next to him on the bed.  
  
Hotohori swiftly looked up, slightly startled that she actually gave him a chance to talk. "I'm sorry, but I just can't seem to find the chopsticks," he replied.  
  
"Oh no! You use a fork," she exclaimed as she picked up the four-pronged object and showed off as if it were some type of magical object. "See? Ain't it pretty?" She then handed him the fork and watched him take a bite of the scrambled eggs. "So what to you think?" she asked eagerly, before he even got a chance to swallow.  
  
"It's quite delicious," he answered. "By the way, how did you know it was my birthday?" he asked curiously. He saw Katherine's face go blank; he waited a moment or two to see if she would answer.  
  
"Ummm... I'm just special like that..." she answered quickly, as if to make up the time lost while she was trying to come up with that defective excuse. Hotohori looked at her eyes skeptically, hoping that she would admit the truth, but she quickly looked away. He continued to eat his breakfast, knowing that if it was something important she would tell him when she thought the time was right.  
  
*  
  
"C'mon, Hotohori! This whole day is dedicated to you!" Katherine shouted as she ran down the palace towards Hotohori, who was now wearing his royal attire.  
  
"Katherine this is really sweet, but I have meetings and conferences to go to," Hotohori replied sadly.  
  
"That is where you are wrong," she said with a large secretive smile. Hotohori just gave her an inquisitive look. "I asked your advisors if they would like a day off, so all of your meetings are canceled!" she said happily. "I hope you don't mind," she finished in a meek voice as she looked at him uneasily, not sure of what his reaction would be.  
  
Hotohori embraced her in his arms. "That is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me," he whispered lovingly in her ear.  
  
"Well you deserve it," she replied softly as she hugged him back. They stayed like that for a moment or two, feeling each other's warmth upon their skin. Once they finally backed away, Katherine began to rock back on forth on her heals. "So, what do you want to do? You only turn nineteen once."  
  
"Do you know what I think I'd enjoy?" he said secretively.  
  
"What?" she asked enthusiastically as her eyes widened.  
  
"To go horseback riding with you through the gardens, just you and me."  
  
"Okay... but under one condition," she replied as she held up her index finger. "You can't wear this," she said as she quickly reached up and took off Hotohori's crown and watched his hair gracefully fall down upon his shoulders.  
  
"May I ask why not?" he asked while slightly laughing, something Katherine rarely heard him do.  
  
"Because your hair is so beautiful! Why would you want to stuff it in this Chinese take-out box?" she exclaimed as she looked at the crown awkwardly. Before Hotohori could ask her about her Chinese take-out box comment she broke into song. "I'm too sexy for my hat, too sexy for my hat. What do you think about that?" she sang jokingly as she danced around in a circle while holding the crown on top of her head. Suddenly she became serious. "I'll meet you at the stable in fifteen minutes," she said as she ran down the hallway, still holding the hat.  
  
*  
  
Katherine was placing the saddle on her favorite black horse, Jack. She had named it after the first horse she had ever ridden during horseback riding lessons. It was uncanny how similar the two horses were - both all black, including the mane and tail, except for a white diamond in the middle of the forehead. She suddenly heard footsteps approaching her. She turned around to see who it was, even though she was sure it was Hotohori. Her hazel eyes twinkled happily when she saw him wearing his commoner outfit. She had always loved that outfit more than any other one he wore.  
  
"I thought it would be easier to go horseback riding in this," he explained as looked down at his white sleeve, cuffed with a the large purple bond. Once the priestess and the emperor mounted their horses, they trotted towards the gardens and began enjoying the beautiful spring day.  
  
*  
  
Christina sped around the courtyard, trying to think of something else to do. She could feel one of the wheels on her roller blades coming loose and clacking across the ground. She turned to her right and screeched to a halt, and then bent over and examined the wheel.  
  
"Christina!" Nuriko shouted, causing Christina to turn her head to see who called her.  
  
"Hey Nuriko!" Christina answered.  
  
"So what are you up to?"  
  
"Just blading," Christina answered. She looked at Nuriko and said, "How 'bout I teach you how?"  
  
"Oh! That sounds like fun!" Nuriko said happily.  
  
Christina and Nuriko skipped to Katherine's room. After a few minutes of searching, Christina found Katherine's skates. Katherine's roller blades were older than her own skates, and, luckily, fit a wider array of shoe sizes.  
  
"Put these on," Christina instructed, "I'll be back in a minute." She rolled out the door down to her own room, praying that she had brought a screwdriver so she could tighten her wheel. Successfully fixing her wheel, she glided back into the room to find Nuriko had gotten the skates on, but seemed hesitant to try to stand up.  
  
"Okay, stand up," Christina said while Nuriko slowly picked himself off the ground. He stood, shaking precariously with his arms out in front of him. Christina gently held his hands until he found his balance.  
  
After a few minutes, Christina slowly let go of his hands so he could stand by himself. He leaned forward at first, but soon caught his balance.  
  
"Good," Christina told him, "Now to learn how to move." Nuriko began to get the feeling that it was going to be a lot harder than it looked.  
  
Christina was pulling Nuriko slowly down the hall, trying to get him used to the skates moving. They'd been skating around like this for twenty minutes, so Nuriko was pretty used to it.  
  
"Alright, now you're going to try on your own," Christina announced.  
  
"Yay!" Nuriko said happily.  
  
"Do you remember what I told you? Just kinda do a mix between a walk and a glide."  
  
Nuriko slowly scooted his right foot out. He then rolled his left foot in front of the right. After a minute or so, he had succeeded in skating about ten feet.  
  
"Go Nuriko, it's your birthday, go Nuriko, it's your birthday," Christina congratulated him while pumping her arms into the air. Nuriko was too excited to point out that it wasn't his birthday today, it was Hotohori's.  
  
"Awesome! Now try it a little faster," Christina said. She skated in front of him and turned around so she could see how he was doing. She started to roll backwards as she called, "You're lookin' good!"  
  
*  
  
Hotohori and Katherine trotted their horses back to the stables. They put their horses and the saddles back in their proper place. Katherine suddenly felt someone touch her shoulder, causing her to jump. When she turned around she saw Hotohori looking at her with loving eyes.  
  
"Katherine..." he whispered as he slowly ran his fingers through her hair.  
  
"Y-yes?" she answered, becoming flustered.  
  
"Can I please have my crown back?" he asked disinterestedly, holding out his hand.  
  
Katherine stood there for a second, dumbfounded. Once she let everything sink in she realized that he was just playing a joke on her. "That... that was mean!" she exclaimed as she pointed angrily at him, even though she was glad to see that he was finally starting to lighten up. "Anyways, I hid it," she continued with a mischievous smile on her face. "If you want it back you'll have to find it!" she shouted as she ran away towards the palace.  
  
As she was running she turned around to find Hotohori chasing after her. He was slightly laughing as he was running, not believing that for once he was actually worry-free. She heard his footsteps come closer and closer, but she continued to run, even though it was obvious that he was going to catch up with her. She felt him gently grab her arm, causing her to swing around and look at him. They both continued to laugh softly as they gasped for air.  
  
They looked into each other's eyes for a moment or two, as if they were asking for each other's permission for them to take the next step. They closed their eyes as their lips slowly moved closer; slightly hesitating as if they were unsure what they were doing was wrong, but once they connected they knew that it could not be farther from the truth. Neither one of them wanted to pull away, their fantasies were coming true, and it was better than they could have ever anticipated. It was as if they were born for one another; they couldn't live without the other. They were both scared that if they ended this moment of bliss they would have to come face to face with reality and all of this would be gone. Katherine would find herself back in her world loaded with homework, and Hotohori would be sitting on his throne, contemplating over his loneliness. But they knew deep down, though, that they could not stay like this forever, no matter how much they wanted to. They slowly pulled away and opened their eyes, releasing a sigh of relief, glad to see the other one was still standing there.  
  
"C'mon, I'll show you where I hid it," Katherine mumbled, referring to the crown. Hotohori just nodded and they walked back to the palace arm-in-arm.  
  
*  
  
Nuriko and Christina were zooming around the palace. They went everywhere: through the hallways, across the courtyard, anywhere with flat ground. After an hour of fun, Christina looked for something more exciting, and she found it. She looked up in awe at the huge railings that guarded the sides of the stairs leading to the palace.  
  
They slowly ascended the stairs, still in their skates. Nuriko was gripping the railings as though if he let go, he would surely fall to his death. Christina scaled the steps two at a time. Christina and Nuriko stood at the top and looked down to see a million stairs below them. Christina glided over to the railing.  
  
"What are you thinking?" Nuriko asked, seeing the expression on Christina's face.  
  
"Just wondering if this would make a good grind rail," Christina answered. She slowly climbed on top of the bar. "I guess I'll find out," Christina supposed as she started to slide down the rail. Christina felt her skates vibrate as she sped down the banister. She leaned her skates into the rail, trying to slow down. She was going down awfully fast; the scenery sped by in a blur. She looked in front of her and saw that the rail curved up into the air when it ended.  
  
She got ready to be catapulted into the air and squeezed her eyes shut. For about fifteen seconds, she flew into the air. Christina looked down to the see ground quickly approaching. She bent her legs, ready to absorb the shock of landing. As soon as she landed, her legs buckled under the shock and she fell backwards on her butt.  
  
"Are you OK!?" Nuriko shouted as he tried to descend the steps as quickly as he could while holding onto the banister.  
  
"I'm fine! Ow." Christina said as she slowly stood up. Her hands were all scraped up and red. She slowly skated over to Nuriko and showed him her hands. He winced when he saw them.  
  
"That was a real smart thing to do," he told her.  
  
"THAT was a rush," she pointed out.  
  
*  
  
"What can I do to get you to believe me!?" Joan begged.  
  
"IF your telling the truth then where's the connection?" Diana demanded, knowing that if there was a connection then they could talk to Katherine and Christina through it.  
  
"Sor-ry! She didn't give me a blasted ribbon!"  
  
"It doesn't have to be ribbon, you moron! It can be anything! Like...money, for example."  
  
"Why would Katherine bring money to Konan!?"  
  
"Did she take any clothes?" Diana asked.  
  
"Yeah...so?" Joan asked as she looked at her friend inquisitively, not knowing where her train was heading  
  
"Well, it IS Katherine; she ALWAYS leaves money in her pockets!"  
  
Joan slapped herself on the head, angry with her own stupidity. She jumped up and tore the two cushions that Diana was not seated on off the couch, frantically searching for loose change. She grabbed three pennies, a nickel, and a quarter before she placed the cushions back. Then she ran into the other room and snatched the cushions off of the chairs to find a crumpled dollar bill and two dimes. She ran back to where Diana was sitting and plopped back down on the couch. Then Joan lifted her hand, still full of loose change, to her face and started to yell. "KATHERINE! CAN YOU HEAR ME!?!? CHRISTINA!? ARE YOU GUYS THERE!?!?"  
  
*  
  
Katherine was sitting in her room changing out of her capris, which had happened to get dirt all over them from horseback riding. While she was deciding what she should wear instead she was also contemplating on what to get Hotohori for his birthday. She wished she could get him something nice, but she had just gotten back from Kutou and there hadn't been any time to go shopping. Maybe she could give him something from her world. She had no idea if she had even brought anything from her world that would interest him.  
  
Katherine was picking up a pair of dark brown khakis when she suddenly heard a voice calling her. "Katherine, are you there?" a muffled voice asked.  
  
She looked around her, seeing no one. "Oh great..." she muttered under her breath. "I don't have time to go insane!!!" she complained as she threw the pants on the ground and looked up at the ceiling.  
  
"Can you hear me?" a stifled voice asked once again.  
  
Katherine realized that it was coming from her pants. "No! No! Nonononono! My pants are NOT talking to me..." she mumbled as she took another deep breath. "YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO TALK TO ME... IT'S, LIKE. AGAINST THE LAW OF SANITY OR SOMETHING!" she yelled through her teeth at the brown material as she pointed vigorously at it.  
  
"Katherine! It's me, Joan! Not your blasted pants!" Joan shouted back, hearing Katherine rant transmitted through the dollar bill.  
  
"What the hell?" Katherine grumbled, now utterly confused. She cautiously picked up the pants and looked at them skeptically as if they might suddenly attack her.  
  
"I'M IN THE BLASTED POCKET!" Joan screamed, agitated by her sister's stupidity.  
  
Katherine carefully put her hand in the pocket and brought out a one dollar bill. All at once everything began making sense to the baffled priestess. "OH!!!" she exclaimed, excited that now she finally understood what was going on.  
  
"You're a moron," her sister stated.  
  
"So you found a connection!" she joyfully said with a large smile on her face. "I'm so proud of you..." she continued in a more serious tone, forming fake tears.  
  
"Shut up," was her sister's only reply.  
  
"What the fuck?!?!" Katherine heard Diana's voice yell.  
  
"So you found your Tetsuya... nice choice," Katherine complemented her sister, knowing that Diana would be perfect for the job, once the difficult task of getting her to believe them was complete.  
  
"I want you back in this world now!" Joan scolded, knowing what kind of trouble was heading straight toward her little sister, but Katherine completely ignored her order.  
  
"Hey, do you think you can figure out a way to get objects from our world to be transported to this world?" Katherine curiously asked, still not knowing what to get Hotohori.  
  
"How in the world are we supposed to do that?" Joan asked sarcastically.  
  
"I'm sure we can figure out a way," Katherine assured.  
  
*  
  
Hotohori, Tamahome, Katherine, Nuriko, Chichiri, and Christina were sitting at the dining room table. Katherine looked around to make sure everyone was finished with their supper. "C'mon," she instructed Christina, "Let's go get it." Christina nodded in agreement. They stood up from their seats and started to walk out of the room.  
  
"Go get what?" Nuriko asked.  
  
"You'll see," Christina answered as they disappeared out the doorway. The four remaining exchanged confused looks. A few minutes later the two priestesses returned to the table with a large chocolate birthday cake topped with nineteen candles. The words 'Happy Birthday Hotohori!' were printed on the top of the cake in yellow icing.  
  
"Umm... your cake's... kinda on fire," Tamahome pointed out, not knowing the nicest way to put it.  
  
"It's supposed to be!" Christina told him, rolling her eyes her eyes.  
  
"First," Katherine explained, "we sing the Happy Birthday Song. Then, Hotohori makes a wish and blows out the candles."  
  
"And, if he blows them all out in one breath, his wish will come true!" Christina finished.  
  
The three seishi watched in disbelief as the two priestesses sang Happy Birthday to their emperor. "Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday Hotohori, Happy Birthday to you," they sang in unison. They all watched Hotohori blow out the candle in one breath.  
  
"So what was you wish?" Katherine eagerly asked.  
  
"I thought I wasn't supposed to tell," Hotohori answered doubtfully as Christina cut up the cake.  
  
"How did you know?" Christina asked as she handed the first piece to Hotohori.  
  
"Isn't that how all wished work?" he questioned back right before he took a bit out of the chocolate cake. The other seishi and the priestesses took their slivers of the cake and devoured them, each of them commenting on how good the cake was.  
  
"There is one more surprise for the night," Katherine announced secretively as a sly smile grew on her face. "Hotohori, meet me in the kitchen in ten minutes," she continued as she ran out of the dining room.  
  
*  
  
Ten Minutes Later...  
  
*  
  
Hotohori went to the kitchen and found a piece a paper lying on the countertop. It read: 'Welcome to the start of your very first scavenger hunt! Just follow what the pieces of paper say and at the end you'll find your birthday present! First clue: This is where you spend ninety percent of your time.' Hotohori knew she meant his conference room.  
  
*  
  
"Christina! Get in here quick!" Christina heard Katherine's voice from her room.  
  
"What's goin' down?" she asked as she entered her best friend's room. She spotted a black leather swivel chair in the middle of the room. "Where did that come from?"  
  
"I'll explain it later! I need to get this to Hotohori's office!" Katherine hissed back as she began to roll the chair out the doorway.  
  
*  
  
Chichiri was in deep meditation when his trance was broken by the Priestesses' voices in the hallway.  
  
"You're not helping!" he heard Katherine's voice hissed petulantly.  
  
"Yes I am! I'm directing you!" Christina's voice whispered back. Chichiri poked his head out of his room and saw Christina and Katherine dart by. Christina was sitting in a black chair that Katherine was pushing down the hallway. The confused monk decided not to even ask what they were doing. He walked back into his room and continued meditating.  
  
*  
  
Hotohori reached the door that led to his office and let out an exasperated sigh. He looked at the piece of paper that he had just picked up in Katherine's room. 'Last clue', it began in perfect Chinese handwriting.  
  
"I wonder who she got to write these out," he thought to himself, knowing that Katherine couldn't write in Chinese. He opened the door to his office find everything in order. His desk was about ten feet away from the entrance, with the single, neat pile of scrolls he still had to go through. Then he noticed the black thing behind his desk.  
  
It quickly spun around and revealed Katherine sitting in the chair. Her legs were crossed with her hands neatly folded on them. She looked at him with an extremely professional face for a second or two, but she couldn't hold it. The priestess suddenly started to chuckle as she put on a huge smile and put down her leg. "So what do you think?" she asked as she pushed off of the floor with her foot and spun the chair around in a complete circle. "Your very own swivel chair!" she continued happily as she stopped the chair from spinning.  
  
"Swivel chair?" Hotohori questioned back.  
  
"It's not just a chair... it's a swivel chair!" she exclaimed as she stood up, "Here, sit down." Hotohori looked cautiously at the chair for a moment or two, but then sat down. Katherine slightly rotated the chair from side to side.  
  
"You see! Now you can move without having to get up! 'Cuz it has wheels! And it's made of black leather... VERY professional. Oh! And the seat's padded! Isn't it comfy? I mean, it's not the most romantic present, but-" she rambled on, but was cut short by Hotohori hugging her.  
  
"It's perfect. Thank you..." he softly whispered in her ear.  
  
*  
  
Miaka was lying on her bed daydreaming about Tamahome. He seemed friendly enough. She wished she could see him again, but there was no way Nakago would allow it. Nakago had said that Tamahome was her enemy, yet in the Seiryuu Shrine it seemed like Nakago was more of an enemy than Tamahome. But Nakago saved her in her time of need, so he couldn't be as cruel as he seemed in the shrine. Maybe he had a hidden motivation that she didn't know about yet. Her series of thoughts were abruptly interrupted by Nakago entering her room.  
  
"Hey, Nakago..." Miaka started as she quickly sat up. "Why is Tamahome our enemy?" she curiously asked as she played with the sheets in her hands. Nakago approached her bed, knelt down, and gently lifted her chin, causing her to look straight into his eyes.  
  
"Lady Miaka, I've already explained to you how Kutou is going to war against Konan," Nakago explained in a calm smooth voice, even though he was becoming weary from the priestess's constant questions. "This Tamahome is one of the Suzaku Seven, a warrior for Konan," he continued, putting obvious hatred in his voice when he spoke the name 'Tamahome'.  
  
"But he just seemed so nice..." Miaka countered as she turned her head away from Nakago and stared intently at the bedspread. She just couldn't see Tamahome being an evil person, no matter how hard she tried.  
  
"Would you like to see him again?" Nakago asked trying to act like he was just curious, but his craftiness was shining through.  
  
"Well...yeah..." Miaka admitting as she slightly blushed.  
  
"Well then we will have to see that your wish is granted," he replied as he stood up with a sly smile growing on his face. Before Miaka could ask what he meant by that, he left the room.  
  
*  
  
Katherine had just put her DVD into Christina's DVD player when her door burst open and Christina ran into the room. "Tell me! Tell me!" Christina yelled anxiously. "Oh, so that's where my DVD player was!" she exclaimed as she pointed the little black rectangle on Katherine's bed.  
  
"Yeah, I found Lilo and Stitch at the bottom of my bag! Do you wanna watch it with me?" Katherine asked excitedly.  
  
"No." Christina replied as she wrinkled up her nose, not knowing why Katherine would want to watch a Disney movie. "But I want you to tell me how you got the swivel chair! You made me wait because Hotohori was coming to find it, and you need to leave the room. But now he found it and we have time, so what the fuck are you waiting for?!" she continued, completely changing the subject.  
  
"Well,it all started once upon a time..." she replied annoyingly, just wanting to see her friend's reaction.  
  
"CUT THE CRAP AND JUST TELL ME!" she hollered back as she clenched her fists.  
  
"Okey dokey then..." Katherine replied, using her trademark phrase.  
  
"Oh, by the by, I want my DVD player back when you're done, 'cuz I wanna have a horror movie marathon. But anywho... back to swivel chair!" Christina said, somewhat losing focus on what she was angry about.  
  
"Okay, I'll give it back, just lemme finish watching the cutest movie EVER!" Katherine exclaimed.  
  
"I already told you that I want it AFTER you're done!"  
  
"Fine! Shut up! Do you wanna hear the story or not?!" she snapped back as she let out an exasperated sigh.  
  
"Story time! Story time!" Christina chanted as she clapped her hands.  
  
"While I was planning on what to get Hotohori, my pants started to talk to me." Christina just looked at her insane friend and raised an eyebrow. "But then I realized that it was my pocket that was talking."  
  
"And however did you obtain these magical talking pants?" Christina asked sarcastically.  
  
"It wasn't the pants it was the dollar bill in my pocket!" she yelled, now becoming annoyed that Christina wouldn't let her talk for more than five seconds.  
  
"You just said that you pocket was talking! Which one is it?!?!" Christina yelled back, hoping her friend would start making sense.  
  
"It was the dollar. I always leave money in my pocket!" Katherine explained, starting to slightly lower her voice.  
  
"So... the dollar was talking? I mean, Sacagawea dollar coins are one thing, but talking money!?" Christina questioned incomplete disbelief.  
  
"MY SISTER WAS USING THE DOLLAR BILL AS A CONNECTION!!!" Katherine yelled, tired of Christina always interrupting her. Christina blinked, comprehension dawning on her.  
  
"Okay, I get the talking part, but how did you get a swivel chair?"  
  
"We had that chair in our basement. It's practically new; we only used it for like a month. But for some reason my parents didn't really like it, so we put it in the basement and bought a new one," Katherine explained, finally calming down.  
  
"I don't care about the history of your swivel chair! Just tell me how it got here!!! Was it air-mailed or what!?!"  
  
"IF YOU WOULD JUST SHUT UP AND LISTEN I'D TELL YOU!!!" Katherine shouted back, extremely agitated. "Anyways... Joan and Diana had the best idea! They laid the book open on the floor, put the chair over it, and held the bill over the chair. Then they went WHAMO!" Katherine exclaimed as she quickly clapped her hands once, for dramatic effect.  
  
"'Whamo'?" Christina asked sarcastically.  
  
"Yes, whamo!" she exclaimed again as she clapped her hands once more. "You know, they... you know... they..." she continued as she searched her mind for the right word.  
  
"No, I don't know..."  
  
"What's the stupid word!? They...," she shook her hands through the air, hoping that she'd think of the word if she performed the action along with it. "Umm... they... like..."  
  
"Okay, good enough..." Christina said, tired of watching her friend desperately trying to find the right word. "So we can get stuff from our world here?"  
  
"Oh yeah," she replied, with special emphasis, as she nodded.  
  
"Do you know what this means, Katherine? Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Christina said.  
  
"I dunno... what are you thinking?" she replied sarcastically.  
  
"PIZZA!" Christina shouted merrily.  
  
"MCDONALDS!"  
  
"BATTERIES!"  
  
"RANDOMNESS!" Katherine replied, inserting her catchword for odd situations in the same sing-song voice.  
  
"Dr. Pepper!" Christina shouted, ignoring Katherine's comment.  
  
"Wow...now I really really want some Dr. Pepper," Katherine said while holding her stomach.  
  
"Well, what's stopping us?" Christina answered as she dangled the dollar bill in front of Katherine's face.  
  
She quickly snatched it from her friend's hand and held it up to the sky. "Joan, sister of mine that I love so much?" Katherine asked innocently into the dollar bill.  
  
"Yes?" her sister answered through her teeth, knowing that she was about to ask for something.  
  
"Could you please send us some Dr. Pepper? Pretty please?" Christina meekly asked.  
  
Joan let out a long sigh; she had always known that they were addicted to that drink, "Sure..."  
  
"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" they gratefully said in unison.  
  
"How many?"  
  
"AS MANY AS YOU GOT!" Katherine replied excitedly. She then placed the dollar bill on the floor  
  
A moment later the dollar bill expanded, becoming five times the size it once was. It floated up into the air with red sparkles gracefully falling down with a several pop cans. Christina looked up in awe until one almost hit her in the head. "OH MY GOD! I'M GONNA DIE!!!" she screamed at the top of her lungs as she ran frantically around the room trying to avoid the death bombs of soda.  
  
"You moron! Try to catch them before they explode!!!" Katherine shouted at her friend, who was still trying to evade the cans.  
  
Suddenly, Christina switched into football player mode; she ran around trying desperately to catch them. One was falling diagonally towards the door. She ran as hard as she could, pumping her arms vigorously and dove to catch it, sliding out into the hallway.  
  
"WHOOOO!!!" Katherine shouted cheering on her friend, who was holding the pop can up in the air.  
  
Soon, the white flooring held a dozen Dr. Pepper cans, and Katherine and Christina were both ferociously chugging down a can. Once they finished it they both smashed it against their forehead, still in football player mode. "WAHOO!!!" they both shouted as they looked at their smashed pop cans. Then they broke into randomness and started to shout, "DEFENSE! DEFENSE! DEFENSE!" they chanted at the top of their lungs. The caffeine had, obviously, settled into their systems. They each took another can and gulped it down and continued with their unpredictability. "Dr. Pepper... you make the world taste better," they both sang as they held the cans in their hands. "You make the world taste better... you make the world taste better. Doc-tor... Pep-per," they continued, dancing around the room.  
  
Katherine then noticed a servant standing in the doorway staring at both the priestess incredulously. Katherine suddenly stopped and tried to look as innocent as possible, letting her clueless friend continue singing. The female servant left, hoping that she hadn't just seen the people who were going to save her country acting like insane morons. Katherine fell to the floor from laughter as Christina finally turned to see why her friend had stopped singing.  
  
"There was...a...servant," Katherine choked out to the best of her ability as she continued to laugh, pointing towards the now empty doorway.  
  
Christina's jaw slightly dropped. "You're kidding me... right?" she asked, not believing someone just watched her make an idiot of herself. But Katherine just nodded, still laughing loudly. Christina then started to crack up and fell to the floor next to Katherine.  
  
Tamahome was walking down the hallway when he heard "Can't... breathe..." from Katherine's room. He barged through the door, hoping that he had made it in time. Both Christina and Katherine were on the floor clutching their stomachs in pain.  
  
"Are you guys okay?" Tamahome worriedly questioned as he knelt by Katherine's side.  
  
"I...can't...breathe..." Katherine, who was desperately gasping for air, replied.  
  
"Who did this to you two?!" Tamahome anxiously asked, looking around for a concealed assassin.  
  
Before either of the priestesses could answer, Hotohori appeared in the door way. He saw Tamahome kneeling over Katherine as she was gasping for air. He then looked over to see Christina clutching her side and crying out in pain. Tamahome quickly turned around to find Hotohori glaring at him and scrambled to his feet. Hotohori responded by swiftly withdrawing his sword and pointing held the tip just inches away from Tamahome's neck.  
  
"What did you do?!" Hotohori angrily accused as he moved the sword closer to Tamahome's neck.  
  
"I swear I didn't do anything!" Tamahome claimed, holding up his hands as if to show that he was innocent.  
  
"Oh...my side..." Christina muttered as she clutched her ribcage.  
  
"No...you don't...understand..." Katherine tried to explain as she struggled for breath.  
  
"We're... we're laughing!" Christina gasped as she burst into peals of hilarity again.  
  
Hotohori looked over at Katherine to see if she would affirm Christina's explanation. Katherine just nodded vigorously, before she broke out in more laughter, not believing that even in this altered storyline Hotohori still ended up threatening Tamahome with a sword. Hotohori then lowered his sword and put it back into the sheath.  
  
"Please accept my sincerest apologies," Hotohori said, ashamed of coming to such an irrational conclusion. He then turned around and started to walk out the doorway.  
  
"Hey! Wait up!" Katherine shouted, now done with her laugh-fest, as she stood and caught up with him.  
  
Tamahome angrily turned to Christina, who was finally starting to calm down. "You idiot! Because of you I was almost decapitated!!!" he furiously shouted at the priestess.  
  
"HEY!" Christina shouted back, scrambling to her feet. "First of all, I saved your ass! And second of all, I thought we told you not to call us that!!!" she continued yelling, referring to 'idiot', once again.  
  
"WHY IS IT SO FORBIDDEN TO CALL YOU AN IDIOT?!?!"  
  
"IT JUST IS!!!" Christina shouted at the top of her lungs, fed up with Tamahome. "Why didn't Hotohori just stab him when he had the chance?" she wondered. She then stomped out of Katherine's room and slammed the door shut. She stormed down the hallway, not even noticing Hotohori and Katherine kissing under the starry night.  
  
To Be Continued...  
  
AN3: So... what do you think? Please review... pretty please? If we write a poem will you review? Deal? Okay, it's a deal! This poem is by the one... the only... MRS. TASUKI!  
  
We want to know,  
  
Just how you feel  
  
About our tale,  
  
Tell us for real.  
  
If you have ideas, questions, or comments,  
  
We'll gladly reply  
  
Leave a review,  
  
And we'll really try.  
  
In closing,  
  
Go and review!  
  
I mean who else are we writing this story for?  
  
OURSELVES AND YOU!  
  
~Mrs. Tasuki and Nyan Nyan ~  
  
~*~  
  
Fushigi Akugi  
  
(Another Fushigi Akugi that shows our dislike... scratch that... hatred for Tamahome. Wahoo!!! SPOILER: episode 22! Tamahome fans: You Have Been Warned. *DUN DUN DUN*)  
  
"What did you do?!" Hotohori angrily accused as he moved the sword closer to Tamahome's neck.  
  
"I swear I didn't do anything!" Tamahome claimed, holding up his hands as if to show that he was innocent.  
  
"Oh... my side..." Christina muttered as she clutched her ribcage.  
  
"He... he did it!" Katherine jokingly yelled while pointing to Tamahome.  
  
"Yeah! It's... it's his fault!" Christina accused.  
  
Hotohori lowered his sword but moved his hands so then he had a better grip on it, and then stabbed the blue-haired sei right through the stomach.  
  
"WAHOO!!!" Christina and Katherine screamed at the top of their lungs.  
  
"Damn! If only we had a freakin' remote!" Christina yelled, wanting to watch the 'scene' over and over again.  
  
"STAB HIM AGAIN! STAB HIM AGAIN!" Katherine, whose favorite episode was twenty-two, chanted endlessly. 


	14. Episode 13: Tempting Fate

Authors' Note: This episode is dedicated to all of our reviewers, especially InvisibleRain, wingweaver, and Kimiko Kashibara, who have sent us numerous encouraging reviews. THANKS YOU GUYS! ~Nyan Nyan and Mrs. Tasuki~  
  
Episode 13:  
  
Tempting Fate  
  
By: Nyan Nyan and Mrs. Tasuki  
  
"Where did the swivel chair and pop cans go?" Diana asked, staring at the living room floor where the book was lying open on the beige carpeted floor. Crimson-colored sparkles, bright as embers, filled the air and disappeared as they floated towards the ground.  
  
"It really did work..." Joan said to herself, still astounded. She stared at the one-dollar bill. It was surrounded by little red sparkles. She held the money by its corners, like the precious treasure it was, which it was. A simple one-dollar bill was Joan and Diana's only link of communication from their world to Katherine and Christina in Konan. Joan delicately placed the dollar bill in the front right pocket of her blue jeans, promising herself not to lose it.  
  
They two girls looked at each other; Diana raised her eyebrows, amazed. "Did that seriously just happen?" Diana asked, more to herself than Joan.  
  
"Yes, it did. You saw the exact same thing I did."  
  
"Joan?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"This is starting to creep me out," Diana stated. She looked at Joan, trying to find some strange look that would give her away. Diana expected Joan to burst out laughing and point at her: "You fell for it!" Joan would say. Then Christina and Katherine would jump out from behind a couch or a chair and yell, "SURPRISE! WE GOT YOU!"  
  
But Joan did not crack a smile, and neither Christina nor Katherine appeared. Diana was starting to almost believe the whole charade. Joan could never play a joke without smiling or slipping up with a snicker or two, and Christina could never last throughout a whole joke of that magnitude without trying to do something outrageously funny. Diana shifted her gaze from Joan, who was deeply immersed in reading the book, down to the pages, where more words were materializing on the old, thick paper. She moved closer to Joan and began to read over her friend's shoulder.  
  
*  
  
Christina and Katherine were standing on the balcony outside of their rooms. On the side of Katherine's room there was Tamahome's, who was probably asleep, on the other side of Christina's room was Nuriko's.  
  
"Oh my gosh! I just realized something!!!" Katherine exclaimed as she turned to Christina. "Do you think Miaka was... you know... and, like, Nakago saved her?"  
  
"I really hope not, but I don't think so because she didn't have any scars on her wrist or anything. But do you think Nakie-poo is telling her that...you know..."  
  
"Well, then probably not...if she didn't have any cuts on her wrists..." Katherine replied as she turned back around and looked up at the night sky.  
  
"Yeah...I guess..." Christina agreed; even though she wasn't the biggest Miaka fan, she didn't want something that terrible to happen to anyone.  
  
Suddenly the two priestesses' conversation was interrupted by Tamahome's scream, "Who's there!"  
  
"Tamahome's talking to himself..." Katherine commented as she turned around to see Tamahome's single silhouette through the thin papering that covered the door.  
  
"Schitzo," Christina replied as she raised one eyebrow.  
  
"I think we should go check on him," Katherine continued, ignoring Christina's comment, as she walked to Tamahome's door. She knocked on his door and slowly opened it to find Tamahome standing there looking up at the ceiling.  
  
"What's this force I'm sensing?" Tamahome mumbled, trying to figure out where the strange life force was coming from.  
  
"Huh? What's up with you?" Katherine asked, seeing the odd look on Tamahome's face. Christina walked up behind Katherine, also wondering what was wrong. They both walked into the room, closing the door behind them.  
  
A look of realization dawned on both priestesses when they realized he was sensing someone's ki. Just then, the door was slammed open and Hotohori rushed into the room. "Do you sense that evil presence?" he asked Tamahome as he looked up at the ceiling.  
  
"I have a message for the Priestesses of Suzaku," a shadowy voice that seemed to reverberate throughout the whole room announced importantly.  
  
"Who are you?" Tamahome demanded.  
  
"I am a messenger from the land of Kutou," the voice replied. "We have already advanced on several villages in Konan. This is common knowledge. However, if the one member of the Suzaku Seven known as Tamahome is presented to Kutou, we will advance no further." Everyone in the room looked over to Tamahome, who had a grim look on his face. "I repeat, if the one member of the Suzaku Seven known as Tamahome is presented to Kutou, we will advance no further."  
  
Katherine and Christina looked at each other. "Why would Miaka do this?" Katherine whispered to Christina.  
  
"Probably because she loves him or something..." Christina whispered back, shrugging.  
  
"Great..." Katherine said through her teeth, sighing agitatedly. Chichiri and Nuriko ran into the room and looked around, searching for the evil presence.  
  
"The ceiling," Chichiri said as he lifted his hand in front of his face and bolts of electricity shot towards the ceiling. An assassin appeared on the ceiling. He jumped down to the ground to escape. Hotohori slashed at the agent with his sword, but he dodged Hotohori's blade. Tamahome attempted to kick the assassin, but he also eluded Tamahome's attack. The assassin jumped up and through the room's circular window, scattering pieces of wood. Nuriko ran out the door to follow him.  
  
"Stop! I said STOP!" Nuriko ordered as he broke a large piece of the railing off. He threw the banister towards the agent, who jumped up and over one of the palace's surrounding walls. The railing crashed into the side of the enclosure. "How rude! He broke the wall!" Nuriko pouted. Tamahome jammed his elbow into Nuriko's head.  
  
"YOU broke the wall! He got away," Tamahome said angrily as he and Nuriko walked back inside.  
  
"Hotohori, is it true that villages have been attacked?" Tamahome asked as he approached the emperor.  
  
"Two things..." Katherine started before Hotohori could answer. "Number one: The dude just said that the villages being attacked were common knowledge. So you should know it, unless if you're some kind moron."  
  
"Number two:" Christina continued. "If it's common knowledge then it's the truth. Common knowledge, truth. Truth, common knowledge," she said, finishing Katherine's thought process as the two friends were known to do.  
  
"Would you two just shut up?" Nuriko asked, irritated at the priestesses' sarcasm.  
  
Hotohori sighed. "It happened yesterday. Three villages to the southwest, in the Juso Prefecture, were attacked by soldiers dressed in black, but I heard the casualties were relatively light," he sadly explained. "Reports say they have made no further gains, fortunately. Now it makes sense!" he exclaimed as a look of realization came to face. "Tamahome, you don't need to worry. Even if their military strength is greater, Konan will not submit."  
  
"Your majesty, the enemy presence has left," Chichiri, who was sensing for the aura of more assassins, interrupted.  
  
"We should all rest now," Hotohori advised as he, Nuriko, and Chichiri walked out the door to go back to their rooms, but Katherine and Christina stayed behind with Tamahome.  
  
"The villages that were attacked... they were near my village," Tamahome commented more to himself than to anyone else. He sat down in a wooden chair and rubbed his forehead with his hand, contemplating over everything that just happened.  
  
"It's okay..." Katherine reassured as she cautiously approached the sei. "It's up to you. Go if you want to; stay if you don't."  
  
"We aren't gonna make you do one or the other," Christina continued, but, honestly both Katherine and Christina secretly hoped that he would go, since it would put a halt to the war. They needed all the delays they could get, but it wasn't their decision; it was Tamahome's.  
  
"Thanks," Tamahome replied as he forced a smile.  
  
Christina and Katherine turned around and headed towards the door. Katherine quickly turned back around before they left and said, "Just don't do anything stupid, k?"  
  
*  
  
Tamahome was lying on his bed looking up at the ceiling. He slowly turned his head to the side to look through the thin papering that covered his door. When he was sure that everyone was fast asleep, he stealthily stood up and walked into the hallway.  
  
There were two agents from Kutou waiting for Tamahome right outside the border of the palace. They were both wearing long black cloaks, so only their eyes showed. They both saw a silhouette jump down from the large wall that protected the palace from the outside world. As the silhouette stood up one of the agents spoke, "Are you Tamahome? We have been assigned to wait for you."  
  
"Your horse is ready," the other continued in a raspy voice.  
  
Tamahome mounted the horse and rode off into the night with the two agents. He turned to look over his shoulder to see the palace slowly disappearing in the distance. "Goodbye..." he thought, not knowing whether or not it would be the last time he ever saw his priestesses...his friends.  
  
*  
  
Nuriko burst through Christina's door to find that Christina was still soundly sleeping in her bed. "Christina, have you seen Tamahome?!" he hollered, hoping that she would answer, but the only reply he got was a soft grumbling noise. "Christina?" the sei asked as he approached the sleeping priestess. He realized that it would take an hour to wake her up, and he just didn't have that kind of time.  
  
Nuriko decided he would probably have better luck with Katherine. Even though her response wouldn't be a happy one, at least he would get some kind of answer. He cautiously opened up her door and quietly entered the room.  
  
"Katherine, have you seen Tamahome?" he asked.  
  
"Nuriko," Katherine growled, "do you know what time it is?" She glanced over at the clock on her nightstand. "It's 7 o'clock! Why are you waking me up this early?!" she shouted as she focused her blurry eyes on the bright red numbers glowing from her battery-operated clock.  
  
"Tamahome's missing!" he exclaimed, now slightly agitated.  
  
"He's not missing; he's in Kutou. Any idiot could have told you that!" she shouted back as she put her pillow over her head. Katherine always needed a couple minutes to wake up or else she was extremely grumpy.  
  
"Aren't you the least bit worried about him?" he asked, somewhat shocked at the priestess's unconcered reaction.  
  
"No, Miaka will take good care of him," she replied, hoping that Nuriko would just leave and let her sleep.  
  
"Miaka?" he questioned back, wondering who this Miaka was.  
  
"The Priestess of Seiryuu, trust me, she wouldn't hurt a fly."  
  
Nuriko was alarmed that Katherine was placing so much trust in her enemy. "But what if he never comes back?" he asked, still slightly concerned.  
  
"He'll come back after we find the other Suzaku dudes. Any more questions, or are you actually gonna let me sleep?"  
  
"Just one. How do you know all of this?" he questioned, realizing that Katherine knew a huge amount of information, especially considering the fact that she was still half asleep.  
  
"I just do! Now get out!" Katherine hollered as she threw her pillow at Nuriko, who made a hasty retreat, deciding his well-being was more important than his curiosity.  
  
*  
  
Christina and Katherine walked drowsily down the hallway. They were still wearing their pajamas and bathrobes, even though it was eleven o'clock. "Ready for breakfast?" Katherine asked as she rubbed her eyes.  
  
"Yeah" Christina replied groggily. Katherine was wearing a light blue robe with white clouds scattered all over it. Christina was wearing a pink robe with little lips and 'kiss me' randomly written all over it. They passed by Nuriko, who was walking in the opposite direction.  
  
"Hey, those are really nice kimonos, you two," Nuriko stated, while pointing to the bath robes. He turned around and started to walk backwards, so then he could see the girls better.  
  
"Thanks," the priestesses replied in unison as they turned around to face him, slightly confused by Nuriko's comment.  
  
"No, seriously, those things must have cost you a fortune, with those intricate designs and all." Then the sei turned back around and continued to walk down the hallway.  
  
Katherine and Christina just stopped and stared at each other for a second, trying to figure out what Nuriko was talking about. "Do you think he meant our robes?" Katherine asked.  
  
"That must have been it!" she exclaimed. "I mean, what else could it have been?"  
  
"So does this mean we can now go out in public in our PJs and not get yelled at?" Katherine questioned with a sly smile.  
  
"Oh yeah." Christina replied as she slowly nodded.  
  
"High five!" they shouted in unison.  
  
*  
  
Hotohori was in his office, contemplating what to do about Tamahome, when he heard a loud knock at the door. "Come in," he said, not even bothering to determine who it was.  
  
Christina and Katherine bolted in and handed Hotohori a piece of paper. They had nervous looks on their faces as if they had just seen a ghost. "I found this note in my room. It's a note from Tamahome," Katherine explained, ramming all her words together, as she pointed to the paper in Hotohori's hands.  
  
"Can you please read it out loud?" Christina asked, since it was in Chinese and they both didn't know one word of Ancient Chinese. The two priestesses looked at each other fearfully. They crossed their fingers, hoping that it didn't say 'wo ai ni' at the end of it, as Hotohori began to read.  
  
"I've left for Kutou. Once you find the four other celestial warriors, I'll return," he read.  
  
"Is that all?" Christina asked anxiously.  
  
"Yes," he replied as he flipped the note over to see if there was anything on the back.  
  
"You swear?" Katherine asked seriously, remembering that Hotohori hadn't told Miaka that the note said 'I love you' at the bottom until later, and, since Katherine found it in her room, if it said expressed devotion for anyone it would probably be her.  
  
"Yes, I swear," Hotohori replied as he looked at them skeptically, not knowing what was going in the priestesses' minds.  
  
"Thank God!" they both exclaimed, sounding relieved.  
  
*  
  
"You four will begin your search for the other three constellations?" Hotohori asked uneasily as he looked down at Chichiri, Katherine, Christina, and Nuriko from his throne.  
  
"Yeppers," Katherine simply replied.  
  
"Yepperoni," Christina agreed.  
  
"Oh! Now I want pizza!" Katherine teased at Christina, "That sounds just like pepperoni. You know, moo goo gai pan gets old after a while."  
  
"I know..." she replied while clutching her stomach. "I could go for Mickey D's right now."  
  
"Hotohori, are you sure you can't come?" Katherine asked, suddenly switching the subject back to the search for the other seishi.  
  
"I'm terribly sorry, but my duties forbid me to do so. But, please, take care of yourselves," he replied regretfully.  
  
"But can't someone take your place?" Katherine asked as she quickly turned her head to the left and looked at Chichiri.  
  
"Yeah...like a twin?" Christina asked as she looked at Chichiri too, who was standing to her right.  
  
"I-I think I may have an idea," Chichiri said, getting slightly flustered bye the two priestesses glaring at him. He raised his two fingers in front of his face and closed his eyes. Suddenly there was a cloud of smoke and where Chichiri was once standing now stood another Hotohori.  
  
"Wow! Now there's two Hotohoris! One. Two. One. Two," Katherine gushed as she counted the Hotohoris.  
  
"STOP IT!" Christina yelled at her friend, "Every! Single! Time!!!" she continued to yell at the sky.  
  
Ignoring Christina, Chichiri continued, "I could take your place as emperor. The country's in no danger for now, so I can fill in for a while, no da," Chichiri explained as Katherine continued to admire the two emperors and Christina was trying to get her friend to be quiet.  
  
"Chichiri..." Hotohori started, sounding extremely grateful. "I'm much more beautiful than that," he continued as his smile turned into a frown. He would have gone into detail about how his eyes were more sharply defined, his nose was more shapely, and how he was much sexier, but Katherine was too busy glomping him.  
  
"You're not supposed to glomp the emperor! It's against the law or something!" Christina yelled at her friend as she stared at the priestess and emperor in disbelief.  
  
*  
  
"As he came into the window, it was the sound of a crescendo. He came into her apartment," Christina sang as they walked through the forest, trying to find the fourth seishi. She loved Michael Jackson in the eighties, back when he was actually black.  
  
Katherine and the two seishi just ignored Christina and her randomness. "So, Katherine," Nuriko started, trying to get his focus off Christina and her singing. "What does the scroll say?"  
  
"Oh yeah!" Katherine exclaimed as she searched through her mini book bag to find the scroll Hotohori had given her earlier. She was so busy thinking about how to meet Tasuki without putting the group into danger that she had completely forgotten she still had the scroll. "I wouldn't know, it's in Chinese," she said as she handed the scroll over to Nuriko.  
  
"So, Annie are you ok? Are you ok Annie? You've been hit by... You've been hit by...A smooth criminal," Christina continued to sing, completely unfazed by Nuriko and Katherine's conversation while Hotohori just watched the scenery slowly go by as they continued to walk through the forest. Then Christina started to hum the instrumental part of the song, without missing a beat.  
  
"Aaow!" Katherine exclaimed the exact same way Michael Jackson did in the song. She wasn't a huge fan of eighties music, like her friend was, but she did know some random songs, mostly because Christina made her listen to them whenever she went over to Christina's house. Then Katherine turned around and started to moonwalk, just how Christina had taught her. It was difficult to do it on the rocky forest floor, but she still did it decently enough. Suddenly she tripped over a string that was tied in between two trees, causing her fall backwards on her butt.  
  
"Watch out!" Hotohori yelled, rushing over towards the clueless priestess. Katherine whipped her head around to find a large slab of wood with metal stakes jutting out of it hurling towards her. She scrambled to her feet but couldn't get up fast enough. All of the sudden, she felt something force her to the ground. A sharp pang shot through her head as she slammed upon the forest floor. She tried to open her eyes, but soon darkness surrounded her.  
  
"Hotohori! Katherine!" Nuriko shouted as he ran to the unconscious emperor and priestess. He saw blood stain Hotohori's sleeve and spots of blood on the rock where Katherine had hit her head.  
  
"Nuriko! St-" Christina starting to call after him, remembering that a log would hit him soon, knocking him out, but she was cut short by a bandit hitting her over the head with a club.  
  
As Nuriko approached Hotohori and Katherine he heard Christina screaming after him, but he just ignored her. Out of no where, a log came into the back of his knees, causing him to fall to the ground.  
  
*  
  
Nuriko was the first of the four to wake up. He looked around to see a large room with a single wooden table standing off to the side. He heard a soft grumbling noise beside him.  
  
"Ow...my head..." Katherine moaned as she steadily rolled over on her back. She slowly opened her eyes, trying to focus on the off-white ceiling above her. She started to move her hands towards her face, hoping to rub her eyes, but something restrained her \from doing so. Katherine felt cold metal dig into her wrists as she struggled to move her hands. "What the hell?" she muttered as she fumbled around with the chains. She turned to the left to see Nuriko watching over her.  
  
"We were like this when I woke up," Nuriko explained. He had now managed to sit up, even though his ankles were bound too.  
  
"What happened?" Katherine asked, closing her eyes and releasing long sigh. Her horrible headache made it impossible for her to think clearly.  
  
"The bandits ambushed us," he replied sadly, losing his faith in the hopeless mission. Katherine opened her eyes and turned her head away from Nuriko, wishing her surroundings would vanish in thin air. It was then she noticed Hotohori laying unconscious about five yards away from her.  
  
"Hotohori!" she exclaimed as she saw blood seeping from his arm and unto the flooring. She tried to rush towards him but was soon stopped by her chains, causing her to fall flat on her face. As she struggled to sit back up, she felt a drop of blood trickle down her cheek from her left temple. She didn't even bother to try to wipe it away, knowing that it would be pointless.  
  
The first thing Hotohori felt was, surprisingly, not the pain in his arm, but the cold, hard flooring against the side of his face. He realized the throbbing from his wound gradually as he broke out of unconsciousness; he started to hear distant voices that steadily became louder. "The bandits ambushed us," he heard a voice he assumed to be Nuriko's. As he slowly opened his eyes, he heard Katherine call his name, and he swiftly sat up.  
  
"Thank God!" Katherine shouted, sounding relieved, as she saw Hotohori open his eyes and sit up. She again tried to scramble towards him, to see if he was okay, causing her to fall, once again. "You know...you'd think I'd learn," she joked as she looked up at Hotohori, not believing she had just done something so stupid.  
  
Hotohori noticed the blood slowly trickling down her cheek. "Katherine, what happened?!" he asked, worried that she might have a concussion.  
  
"What?...Oh, this!" Katherine replied while gesturing, to the best of her ability, to the wound. "This is nothing, don't worry. But it is giving me a horrible headache," she continued, while slightly laughing. She suddenly became serious again. "Anyways, talking about wounds, what about you?! That looks horrible!" she exclaimed as she looked at Hotohori's arm. Meanwhile, Nuriko tried to get over to Christina, who was still unconscious.  
  
"Christina..." a voice called out of the darkness. Christina slowly opened her eyes and looked around. She was tied up on a floor. Nuriko, Hotohori, and Katherine were also bound with thick chains. Their packs and weapons were piled in a corner of the room, by the door. The floor was an off-white color that suggested that it hadn't been cleaned in a while; Christina decided wanted to get off the floor as soon as possible.  
  
"This is nice," Christina said sarcastically. She began to think of the best way she could free herself. Her arms were tied behind her back, and her legs were tied together at the ankles. So she folded her legs to the right of her body and twisted around until both arms could reach the chains. It was difficult to try to untie herself, since she couldn't even see the shackles.  
  
"What are you doing?" Nuriko asked curiously. From where he was sitting, all he could see was Christina bending around in an odd position.  
  
"Untying myself," Christina answered shortly. Her left arm was starting to ache, as she was holding it to the right side and felt like she was going to pull out of its socket. Katherine moved her legs to the right and followed suit.  
  
"When we get our legs untied, we can help each other stand up and untie our wrists," Katherine said. Her restraints were tied tighter than Christina's, so she wasn't making much progress in removing them.  
  
Christina struggled to pull the chains off of her legs; they scraped against her ankles as she desperately pulled and tugged them. She slowly wrenched her left leg out of the knot. Her leg was slightly bloody, but free. Then she quickly pulled her other leg out. "Got it!" Christina announced happily as she kicked the chains across the room. Katherine, encouraged by Christina freeing herself, worked harder to undo her own bonds. Christina looked down at the line of blood appearing on her cuts, praying she wouldn't get gangrene. The blood started to seep onto her white linen pants, which were now about the same color as the dirty floor.  
  
"MY PANTS!!" she exclaimed angrily as the line of blood soaked into the white cloth, "I JUST BOUGHT THESE, GODDAMMIT!!" The big door swung open and a group of bandits sauntered into the room.  
  
"Well, yer all awake now..." the man in the front of the group said.  
  
"Who are you?" Nuriko asked.  
  
"What? You ain't figgered it out yet!?" he asked, obviously surprised at how oblivious his prisoners were. "Well, I guess I can fill ya in. We're th' bandits of Mount Leikaku!"  
  
"We took everythin' ya got as yer toll," another bandit interjected.  
  
Katherine and Christina looked at each other, knowing what had happened in the series. One of them had to try to beat up some of the bandits for the story to proceed. Christina grinned menacingly, accepting the task she started to stand up.  
  
"Ah'm the boss, so if you'll just do what I say-" the first bandit started to say, but he was interrupted by Christina kicking him between the legs. He fell to the floor in pain.  
  
"How 'bout you just listen to what I say!?" Christina yelled as she kicked her leg up into another man's face, breaking his nose. He quickly knelt, moaning and holding his nose as blood started to drop onto the floor. Christina wished her arms weren't behind her, so she could bash some of the men in the face with the iron chains that decorated her wrists.  
  
"Remember to S.I.N.G," Katherine called, referring to Miss Congeniality. "Solar Plexus, Instep, Nose, and Groin; the four sensitive spots on a man's body," Christina heard her friend chant and stomped on the first foot she saw. Then she kicked the bandit's stomach. Her kickboxing lessons had paid off, not to mention being friends with more boys than girls back home. Christina had always been somewhat of a tomboy, though she didn't look it, and could inflict some serious pain when she wanted to.  
  
"SHE'S CRAZY!!" another bandit yelled as she stomped on his foot and then leveled him with a kick to the stomach. Hotohori, Katherine, and Nuriko watched, bemused, Christina proceed to beat up the rest of the men amusingly. Christina was just about to kick one of the remaining bandits in the face when someone grabbed her hands from behind her.  
  
"Who's th' li'l pest!?" the man asked. He was a handsome guy, with blue hair and a long scar down the side of his face.  
  
"Kouji!" one of the bandits said happily from the floor.  
  
"The boss wanted one o' them," he explained. Then he turned to Christina. "You're pretty fiery; guess it'll be you then!'  
  
Christina aimed a face of disgust towards Katherine. Katherine knew exactly why: Christina was about to pay a visit to the boss.  
  
"Byeness!" Christina called to her friends as Kouji led her out of the room. "See you in ten!" she yelled as Kouji dragged her out the door and down the hall. Katherine made sure to remember that they would need to rush to Christina's 'rescue' in ten minutes.  
  
A bandit wearing a green shirt knelt down by Hotohori and hugged him from behind. "Hey, baby. You look real fine. Why don't you be a nice gal and pour us some drinks," the drunken blond-haired bandit slurred in Hotohori's ear.  
  
"B-baby?" Hotohori stuttered in disbelief, looking at the arms that were lightly lying on his shoulders.  
  
Katherine raised an eyebrow and looked at the emperor and the bandit for a second or two. She started to hold her breath with all her might, but her emotions that were building up inside were stronger, "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!" she loudly laughed as she fell on her side. She abruptly stopped and looked up at the two of them again, as if to make sure that this was actually happening. The bandit gave her a look of shock, not knowing what was so funny, as Hotohori just glared; then the priestess started laughing all over again.  
  
"It looks like they think all of us are women," Nuriko whispered in Hotohori's ear, ignoring Katherine's loud laughter.  
  
"We'll take your chains off," a different bandit said. All four of them surrounded the prisoners and quickly took off their bonds.  
  
"We gotta do what Christina said and wait a while," Nuriko continued to whisper in his ear.  
  
"You mean I have to behave like a common serving girl?!" Hotohori hissed back in a loud whisper, a look of astonishment and disgust on his face.  
  
"C'mon! Who knows? It might be fun," Katherine optimistically encouraged, now done laughing. Hotohori slightly blushed in response, ashamed that he would have to act like a girl in front of Katherine.  
  
"Hurry up, over here!" one of the bandits called. They were now sitting at a wooden table with green chairs waiting anxiously for their servant girls to wait on them.  
  
Hotohori turned around, out of everyone's sight. A couple seconds later he did a simple hair fling, suddenly filled with sparkles and looked at Katherine and Nuriko. Both of their jaws slightly dropped as they looked at the beautiful emperor in complete awe. "Shall we go?" Hotohori questioned, slightly amused by their reaction.  
  
Katherine's and Nuriko's eyes followed him in amazement as he walked over to the table and started to serve drinks. "Only he can be THAT hott, even while he's pretending to be a girl," Katherine muttered to Nuriko.  
  
"Oh yeah..." Nuriko mumbled back, slowly nodding his head as a large smile grew on his face.  
  
Katherine quickly turned her head, snapping out of her daydream, and glared at the purple-haired sei, who was still staring intently at Hotohori. "He's mine. You know that, right? Yeah. He's mine," she informed him seriously, barely leaving spaces in between her words.  
  
*  
  
Tamahome was sitting on the floor in a large room with the two agents watching over him. Everything around him was decorated lavishly with blue. Suddenly the blond-haired general walked towards him. "Welcome, Tamahome," Nakago said with a sneer.  
  
"It's YOU, you bastard," Tamahome greeted him with complete disgust.  
  
Nakago ignored his 'welcoming'. "I am Nakago, a celestial warrior like yourself, however I serve Seiryuu," he informed his captive  
  
"Seiryuu?! So this was your idea! What are you going to do to me, now that you brought me here?" Tamahome questioned, not knowing what was going to happen to him.  
  
"I want you to comfort Lady Miaka," Nakago answered as he knelt down to look at Tamahome in the eye. He then grabbed his chin causing Tamahome to look straight at him. "Anyways, I like you. You are the first person to land a hit on me."  
  
"Oh, so then you must not be that good after all," Tamahome replied with disdain. Nakago countered the comment by slapping Tamahome across the face, just in time for Miaka to see from the doorway of the room.  
  
"Nakago! What are you doing?!" she exclaimed as she rushed over to Tamahome. She knelt down beside him and took out a handkerchief to wipe away the little drizzle of blood running down his chin.  
  
"That? I didn't even feel it," Tamahome boasted.  
  
"Nakago, could you please leave?" Miaka asked as she turned to face the blond-haired general.  
  
"Very well, Lady Miaka," Nakago obediently answered as he walked out of the room, leaving the two alone.  
  
To Be Continued...  
  
AN2: If you didn't notice we went back to the original storyline, but do not worry it will only be like this for a little while longer. So please bear with us. Thank you! ~Mrs. Tasuki and Nyan Nyan~ 


	15. Episode 14: Wolf in the Fortress

Authors' Note: OH MY SUZAKU! WE MADE IT TO EPISODE 14! MRS. TASUKI IS GOING INTO SHOCK! OH YEAH, OH YEAH! (Mrs. Tasuki does 'The Birthday Dance')  
  
Mitsukake, Nakie-poo, and Tomo: "GO MRS. TASUKI, IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY, GO MRS. TASUKI, IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY!"  
  
*cough cough* Alright, now that that's taken care of...  
  
Mrs. Tasuki- Alright, I did this episode, like, all by myself! How proud is everyone of me?! Nyan Nyan- What about the numerous scenes that I wrote? Mrs. Tasuki- *Not listening* As I was sayin', I wrote every scene with Christina and/or Genrou! Which means, like, every important scene! Nyan Nyan- I resent that! Katherine is important too! In fact, she's a main character! Mrs. Tasuki- She's not important in THIS episode! Anyway, Katherine got like all of episode 12! And I wrote some of that! Nyan Nyan- Will you just shut up and get on with the stupid author's note?!  
Thinking: This is the last time I ask Mrs. Tasuki to write an Author's Note.  
Mrs. Tasuki- Yeah... why're you here anyway? This is MY author's note! Get outta here!  
Nyan Nyan- * Lets out a long sigh and walks away *  
Mrs. Tasuki- Now that there are no DISTRACTIONS I can get on with the  
author's note. I'd like t' dedicate this episode to... (Who else?) MYSELF! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I wrote the episode, and I love Tasuki dear, so it's only fair that this episode is MINE! *Insane laughter* BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! EPISODE 14! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA! ON TO EPISODE 14! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!  
Nyan Nyan: SAN ZEN HA! *blows herself up to end the pain of Mrs. Tasuki's witless banter*  
  
*Cue readers to sweat drop and sneak away from the lunatics*  
  
Episode 14:  
  
Wolf in the Fortress  
  
By: Mrs. Tasuki and Nyan Nyan  
  
Kouji led Christina down a long hallway. She moved her hands around her back, try to position them so the chains didn't cut into her arms, since they were starting to throb. A few bandits followed them, in case she tried to escape. But they kept their distance. The group stopped in front of a door, about two thirds of the way down the corridor.  
  
"Excuse me!" Kouji said.  
  
"Yes, who is it?" he replied to himself. Christina tried to hold in her laughter.  
  
"It's Kouji with one of the captured girls for the boss to see! Ah, well, glad you're here! Come right on in! Thank you!" he finished while dramatically pushing the doors open.  
  
"Oh, Kouji! I've been waiting for you!" a disgustingly large bandit said, finishing off his sake. He was wearing yellow pants, a purple hat with horns on the sides, and what looked like a green cape. He honestly looked like a little kid who was dressing up as a Superhero Viking for Halloween.  
  
"Yo, Pig!" Kouji greeted. Christina curled her lip as Eiken ogled her up and down, like she was a piece of meat. She could have sworn that Eiken was drooling. "Be strong," Kouji whispered to her. Eiken had obviously finished his 'inspection' of her, because he stood up and yelled.  
  
"PERFECT!"  
  
The rest of the bandits started to turn around and walk out the door. "Well, if you'll excuse me," Kouji said while turning and joining them.  
  
"No! Come back! Why don't you stay a little longer?" Christina pleaded. Now that she was actually here, she wanted to be anywhere else. She would have rather been back in Kutou. Eiken started to chortle loudly. His perverted laughter gave Christina the creeps. Christina turned back around and faced him; he ogled her back.  
  
"Alright, Rule Number One. You are not coming near me, you pedophile," she pronounced as he blinked stupidly back at her. "God is he smashed," she thought to herself. He started walking towards her as she backed away, her back sliding against the walls. She wanted to keep as much distance as possible between Eiken and herself.  
  
"Okay," she thought to herself, "got to find a way out of this." She looked over at the bed, where she spotted a large purple pillow lying on the floor. She had memorized all the details of episode fourteen due to watching it so much, which was now becoming quite handy in finding the tessen. "That's it," she smiled, "If I grab the tessen, he won't be able to threaten me with a little dagger."  
  
Then she spotted a red pillow next to the purple one. "Or is it the red pillow? Which one is the freakin tessen under?!"  
  
Because her head was turned, she didn't notice that Eiken had begun to rush towards her. She turned back to him as he pushed her back onto the bed. She struggled to squirm out from under him, but it was very difficult, considering her arms were still chained together behind her back.  
  
"Get off of me!" she screamed angrily.  
  
"C'mon," he said, trying to persuade her, "C'mon, be a good girl..."  
  
*  
  
Kouji had just closed the door and begun to walk down the hallway. He hated having to listen to Eiken. "Get off of me!" Kouji heard a cry coming from his ugly perverted boss's room. He looked back down the hall, disgusted with Eiken.  
  
"Scum!" Kouji muttered angrily. He shook his head remorsefully and continued on his way down the hall.  
  
*  
  
Christina finally got out from under Eiken. She rolled off the bed and landed with a thud on the floor. Standing up, she began slinking towards the door. He stood up and started to follow her with a dreamy twinge in his eye. She tried to think of some way to just delay him.  
  
"Wait a minute, you're obviously wasted," she told him.  
  
"So?" Eiken asked stupidly.  
  
"So...uh...you know what that does to a guy, don'tcha?"  
  
Eiken continued to blink at her foolishly, clearly too drunk to comprehend what she was hinting at. "Yeah...you uh...," she faltered, trying to hide the embarrassment. "Like, you won't be able to perform...so, you might as well just let me go!" she suggested unreservedly.  
  
*  
  
Nuriko, Hotohori, and Katherine were serving even more drinks to the drunken bandits, anxiously waiting for ten minutes to pass. They were hoping that if they got the bandits drunk enough it would be much easier to escape and rescue Christina.  
  
"Never mind dat, I say Eiken's bein' a real idiot," a bandit at a table in the corner of the room told his three friends as they nodded in agreement. They were speaking loud enough to be heard throughout the room, even though the conversation was meant to be whispered. Their lack of volume control was obviously brought on by the sake.  
  
"What's he thinkin', takin' over the gang while Genrou's gone?" the second bandit added.  
  
"No kiddin'!" the third man yelled, "That dumb sack of scum is throwin' his weight around way too much!"  
  
"Just 'cuz he's got a little power!" the first man said.  
  
"And now he's goin' after some young babe with that ugly face of his!" the fourth man exclaimed. Katherine just glared at the bandits, knowing that in a couple minutes they would get their punishment.  
  
"Give that girl five more minutes, an' we'll never be able t' sell 'er as a virgin," the second bandit continued, sipping down even more sake.  
  
"THAT'S IT!" Katherine yelled, fed up with their conversation. Luckily, Nuriko was standing over by their luggage, in the corner, and he quickly picked up Hotohori's sword and tossed it to him.  
  
"When'd ja get t' be men?!" one of the bandits yelled, astonished, as Hotohori drew his sword.  
  
"EXCUSE ME!!!" Katherine screamed as she grabbed the front of the bandit's shirt, indignant at being called a guy.  
  
"I was talkin' about him," the bandit calmly replied, pointing to Hotohori.  
  
"Oh...okay," Katherine replied as she let go of his shirt. After another moment of thought, Katherine decided to unexpectedly punch the bandit in the cheek. "That's for mistaking my man for a girl!" she hollered as she rose above the bandit, who had been knocked out of his chair from the blow. Meanwhile, Nuriko was using the table to push the rest of the bandits up against the wall.  
  
"Okay...now we just need to wait for a bandit to show us where Christina is," Katherine stated as she dusted off her hands.  
  
*  
  
Koji walked back from Eiken's room and to the room where all of his buddies were, expecting his friends sitting at the table drinking and having the girls serve them. When he opened the door he was shocked to find all of his friends under a table with the purple-haired woman sitting on top of it.  
  
"Took ya long enough!" the strangely-dressed girl shouted.  
  
Suddenly Koji felt the cold metal of a sword against his throat. Without turning his head, he glanced to the side to see who the holder of the sword was. To his amazement he found the tall brunette glaring at him. "Where is she!" she shouted in a deep voice. It was then that Koji realized that the brunette was actually a man.  
  
*  
  
"You're going to do what I want you to..." Eiken replied, taking out a sharp dagger from his shirt. He started to walk towards Christina when a large noise echoed throughout the room like the sound of a wrecking ball. The wall shook, and a large crack appeared right in the center of the plaster. After a moment, another boom reverberated through the room, and a large formed hole in the wall. Nuriko stood braced with fists outstretched in the space where the wall should have been, and its destruction was obviously his doing. Eiken was lying on the floor; a particularly large piece of plaster had dislodged and hit him right in the head. Katherine and Hotohori ran into the room.  
  
"Damn! This one's REALLY strong!" Kouji stated in amazement from the hallway while Nuriko flexed his muscles happily. Nuriko stepped inside the room through his newly-formed entrance, with Kouji in tow.  
  
"Ow, ow, ow..." Eiken complained, sitting up and rubbing his head. He stopped speaking abruptly shocked to find the man in the red tunic threatening him with his sword.  
  
"This girl is a Priestess of Suzaku! For the crime of laying even one finger upon her, the punishment is death!" Hotohori yelled angrily, moving the tip of his sword closer to Eiken's nose.  
  
Christina leaned in front of Eiken's face and tried to think of the worst insult she could. She wasn't exactly thrilled with him at the moment, and really wouldn't have minded if Hotohori killed him. Christina felt like she needed a long shower because he'd touched her.  
  
"You know what? I can't even think of anything nasty enough to say," Christina said angrily.  
  
"You mean that YOU don't have some smart-aleck comment?" Katherine asked her friend incredulously; Christina just shook her head angrily. Nuriko raised his eyebrows. He had only known Christina for a short amount of time, but he knew that she really must loathe Eiken if she couldn't even think of something adequately offensive to say to him.  
  
Suddenly, a powerful gust of wind rushed through the room, rustling the bed covers and causing everyone to shield their eyes.  
  
"What's going on?!" Nuriko exclaimed, protecting his face from the wind. Christina was lifted up, dragged away with a force similar to a hurricane's. As the light wind slowed and died away, Nuriko looked around, and couldn't see Christina. Katherine, Hotohori, and Eiken were also glancing frantically around the room, hoping to figure out what had just occured.  
  
"Christina?" Nuriko asked as everyone else continued to look around in confusion.  
  
"Christina!" Hotohori yelled.  
  
Kouji opened his eyes when he no longer felt the intense wind. He looked straight across the room and gasped.  
  
"Ge-Genrou?!" he asked, completely surprised. Everyone snapped their heads around to where Kouji was staring to see a boy, about seventeen or eighteen years old, standing with Christina slung around his shoulders. He looked tanner than the average Konan resident. His eyes were amber colored and he had orange-red hair the color of flames. He was wearing a long black trench coat and big black boots. Two necklaces were draped around his neck and turquoise earrings dangled from his ears.  
  
"You. You're back?!" Eiken yelled in shock as Genrou smirked. Katherine looked up at Christina, who looked like she had never been more pleased in her entire life.  
  
"It's been a while, Eiken," the newcomer greeted with a sneer, "So after I come back from my trip, I see you've taken over huh? Must be nice for you to have a bride now, considering how damned ugly your face is!"  
  
"Bride?" Christina asked skeptically. "Ewww, no!"  
  
Genrou glanced up at his hostage.  
  
"I'll take this girl," he declared.  
  
"No you won't!" Hotohori threatened, holding his sword in front of him.  
  
"Hotohori, butt out!" Christina shouted back, happy to have found her dream man. Luckily, it wasn't loud enough for the emperor to hear. Genrou pulled out three bits of paper with large, black calligraphy on them.  
  
"GEN-JUTSU SHUN-TAROU!" he yelled, throwing the cards towards Nuriko, Hotohori, Katherine, and Eiken. As he recited the words, the talisman transformed into three howling wolves, which leapt on top of Eiken, Hotohori, and Nuriko.  
  
"No way!" Nuriko screamed in disbelief.  
  
"Well," Genrou said as he turned around and looked back at everyone in the room, "bye for now." He turned and jumped into the air. "Eiken!" he laughed over his shoulder, "If you want this girl back, then you fight me for the boss' seat!"  
  
Hotohori angrily sliced through the wolf that was growling on top of him. Before his eyes, the wolf turned back into two pieces of paper. Each half of the paper fell to the ground as Hotohori looked on, completely baffled. "Paper...?" he questioned.  
  
Katherine, the only one that wasn't attacked by the illusion, decided to help out Nuriko who was having some difficulty getting the wolf off of him. She took a running start and ran straight into the wolf that was on top of the sei, causing the wolf and herself to fall to the ground. When she opened her eyes she found the angry wolf hovering over her. "Nice doggie..." the priestess said in meek voice, but received an angry growl as response.  
  
"You are an idiot," Nuriko stated, walking up to Katherine and picking up the wolf. Before the wolf could respond Nuriko threw him against one of the wall. Upon contact with the brick the wolf turned back into a simple piece of paper.  
  
"Why you...!" Eiken bellowed angrily as he lifted up a large purple pillow form the floor, revealing a wooden box. "I'll teach him to underestimate me!" He opened the wooden box and pulled out a large iron fan. "Rekka Shinen!" the wanna-be Viking shouted at the top of his lungs. Suddenly, a burst of flames flew out of the tessen.  
  
Nuriko looking took one glance at the inferno and ran outside as fast as he could with Katherine trailing behind him. Once the flames died down Nuriko quickly looked back inside the room to see if Hotohori was unharmed. "Um...Nuriko..." Katherine timidly said, tugging the sei's sleeve to get his attention. Nuriko looked back at the priestess to find her pointing towards the wall that surrounded the hideout. Hotohori was already on the wall about to jump down.  
  
"Wow...you can run away really fast!" Nuriko exclaimed as they ran towards the emperor.  
  
"I wasn't running away! I was chasing after Christina," Hotohori shouted back, defending himself.  
  
Nuriko and Katherine took one look at each other then looked back at Hotohori. "Sure ya were..." the muttered in unison.  
  
"Genrou, you jerk!" Eiken yelled angrily out the window. "What do you mean, fight you for the boss' seat?! As long as I've got this." he bellowed as he slapped the iron fan on the side of the open window. "What do you think you can do to resist me?! Come and get me!"  
  
*  
  
Tamahome was sitting on the windowsill looking out into the night. Even though it had only been two days since he left Konan, it seemed like much longer. He wondered if Kutou was going to keep their promise and stop attacking villages; his family's lives depended on it. His thoughts were abruptly interrupted from Miaka entering the room.  
  
"Hey! I thought I'd bring you some food, since you didn't come down for dinner," she greeted cheerfully. She couldn't comprehend how any one could ever miss dinner. She approached Tamahome carrying a large tray with an array of foods.  
  
Tamahome turned his head to see her approach a table and lay the food on it. She stood there for a second or two looking longingly at the food and then quickly diverted her attention away from it.  
  
"You can eat that if you want to. I'm not hungry," Tamahome told her as he stood up from where he was sitting.  
  
"Really?!" Miaka asked with wide eyes.  
  
Tamahome simply nodded, somewhat shocked by her reaction. It was as though he had given her the world. He then watched in awe as she quickly inhaled the food that lay before her. He started to chuckle at her eating habits; she was kind of cute, in a little-kid way. "Do you always eat like that?" he asked. Miaka responded by vigorously nodding, since her mouth was full with food.  
  
*  
  
Hotohori, Katherine, and Nuriko were now outside of the bandit's hideout, running in the direction the strange red-haired bandit had taken Christina. "You guys, trust me, we don't have to do this!" Katherine shouted to the two seishi as she tried to keep up with them.  
  
"What else are we supposed to do?!" Nuriko shouted back, as he looked behind him to see Katherine still close by. "And, anyways, I thought you two were friends!" He didn't understand why Katherine was so insistent that they don't try to save her best friend.  
  
"We are! That's why I'm telling you this! Don't worry! We don't have to hunt them down," Katherine repeated, wishing that they would just listen to her. She knew that persistence in arguing her point must have sounded strange, but honestly, Katherine was sure Christina didn't even want to be rescued. Actually, chances were, she would be rather angry if they barged in on her and Tasuki.  
  
*  
  
"Ow!" Christina complained as she was thrown onto the cold, hard of floor of a shadowy room. She could barely make out any shapes, the moon lending luminosity.  
  
"Only me and my buddy know about this place," Genrou told her as he slipped off his black trench coat. "No one's gonna come rescue you." His fangs and the necklaces around his neck glinted intensely in the moonlight that shone through the window behind him. "Sorry, I don't have anything against ya, but I gotta make an example of you. If you behave yourself, I won't hurt you."  
  
Christina gaped back, amazed that he had just told her to 'behave herself'. No one told her to 'behave herself'.  
  
He kneeled down onto the floor, where Christina was still sitting, and seized her chin with his hand. He tilted her face up towards his own and found her jade-colored eyes staring determinedly back into his own. She didn't seem to be the least perturbed about being kidnapped at all. He momentarily mused that a girl ought to be at least a little upset at being abducted but dismissed the thought as unimportant. He smirked at her arrogance, his fangs catching the light again.  
  
He guided her mouth towards his and kissed her eagerly. Christina lifted her arms up and gently rested them on his shoulders. After a few moments, their lips parted and he removed his hand from her face. He trailed his fingers down her back and wrapped his arms around her petite waist, roughly pulling her closer towards him. He kissed her again, more emotively. Christina felt his tongue start to slide into her mouth and pushed herself apart from him. She didn't seem it, but she was really shy around guys she liked. She bit her lip and searched her mind for an excuse.  
  
"Hold on Romeo, I gotta check something," she informed him as she started to slip off his white shirt. She thought she spotted a red glow on his arm.  
  
"WHAT THE HECK DO YA THINK YER DOIN'!?" he yelled as he slapped his hand over his arm before she could see anything.  
  
"Well, I gotta see if you have a seishi symbol on your body," she explained innocently.  
  
"HOW THE HECK SHOULD I KNOW!?"  
  
Christina was about to yell something back, but was interrupted by two loud knocks on the door. Genrou quickly removed his hand from his arm and put it over Christina's mouth. They both stared at the door on the other side of the room.  
  
"Hello, who's there?" they heard Kouji's voice say.  
  
"It's Genrou's good buddy, Kouji, who's come to see him."  
  
"Ah, well, glad you're here," he answered to himself.  
  
"Come right in!" he replied.  
  
"Thank you!"  
  
Kouji flung the doors open and waltzed into the room.  
  
"Kouji!?" Genrou wondered. "It's been too long Kouji!"  
  
They ran towards each other, linked their right arms, and merrily spun around in a circle.  
  
"But you just saw me, man! A little while ago! Didn't you notice me? That's really cold, man!"  
  
Christina just stared as they continued to spin around the room, transfixed by their 'bandit dance'.  
  
*  
  
After Kouji and Genrou had calmed their happy reunion, the trio sat down on the floor to discuss what they should do.  
  
"When the old boss died a month ago, Eiken thought it would be a good chance to take over since you weren't around," Kouji explained to Genrou sullenly. "The boss was real worried about you right up 'till he died..."  
  
"The boss, huh?" Genrou muttered glumly under his breath.  
  
"Well then, I guess you guys'll be needing my help," Christina stated haughtily, trying to change the subject. She hated everyone being so sad.  
  
"Huh?!" Genrou and Kouji wondered in disbelief.  
  
"You heard me. I'm not really into politics and that's what this sounds like, but me and that fat tub of lard have a score to settle!" she said, clenching her fists at the thought of Eiken.  
  
"Listen you." Genrou started, ready to put her back in her place.  
  
"Don't worry, no thanks necessary. And you guys can help me out with my 'Tasuki' situation," she interjected quickly.  
  
"That's not what I meant!" he yelled back.  
  
"Good, it's unanimous. Let's go Genrou, Kouji!" Christina shouted, jumping to her feet.  
  
"She doesn't understand that she's a hostage, does she?" Kouji asked Genrou skeptically.  
  
"I think you're right," Genrou agreed.  
  
*  
  
"You got that? Genrou's definitely gonna try hitting us in the middle of the night! Don't let your guard down!" Eiken yelled as the bandits before him cheered in response.  
  
From the bushes outside the bandits' hideout, three pairs of eyes stared disgustingly at Eiken. "They're all doing what Eiken says," Genrou spat. "Pathetic."  
  
Kouji, Genrou, and Christina were hiding in the bushes outside of the hideout, trying to figure out the best way to break in.  
  
"They do what he says because we can't stand up to his little keepsake from the old boss." Kouji explained.  
  
"I really should have stolen that." Christina mumbled to herself. "Damn my short-term memory!" she angrily said, still furious that she hadn't remember which pillow the tessen had been stashed under.  
  
"We have to get it back from him," Genrou said as he pulled out about a dozen slips of thick paper, which had large black handwriting scrawled all over them.  
  
"Lemme see!" Christina excitedly shrieked, grabbing a few talismans.  
  
"It's an illusion spell!" Genrou explained. "They're talismans I got from a sorcerer while I was traveling...you write what you want on them and it'll appear as a phantom."  
  
Christina dug around in her pockets until she found a ball-point pen. She smiled deviously as she thought about all the stuff she could write on the cards.  
  
"Ashton Kutcher. or maybe Orlando Bloom!" she thought happily. Then she considered the situation they were in and wondered whether she should write down a bazooka or a shotgun. Or maybe an elephant rifle. Too bad she didn't know how to shoot a gun. But playing video games all the time must pay off somehow. She thought that somehow there must be a perfect way to defeat Eikenn without resorting to writing 'Tamahome' on one of the cards. "OH!" she thought as she figured out what to write down. She quickly scribbled her idea on one of the cards she had 'borrowed', smiling to herself in self- satisfaction.  
  
"Let's sneak in from the other side," Kouji whispered to Genrou and Christina.  
  
Kouji and Genrou started to creep away, and Genrou noticed Christina still sitting behind him, obviously still amused by his talismans.  
  
"What are you doing? Gimme those talismans back!" he whispered loudly as he bopped her on the head. The pair started to sneak behind Kouji.  
  
Suddenly, a sword swung out of the darkness and stopped right under Genrou's chin. He jumped back, baring his fangs in surprise.  
  
"I've found you! How dare you lay your hands on Christina?!" Hotohori hissed angrily. Christina peered over Genrou's shoulder and saw Nuriko strangling Kouji.  
  
"Hey Hotohori, Nuriko! Are ya doin' okay?" Christina asked.  
  
Nuriko let go his grip of Kouji's collar and looked over at Christina, thoroughly confused. "Isn't that supposed to be our line?" he asked.  
  
Katherine popped up next to Christina and hugged her friend.  
  
"Hey!"  
  
"Hey Katherine!"  
  
"So what happened?" Katherine asked her friend, glancing over at Genrou for a second.  
  
"So much to tell, so little time," Christina replied as she and Katherine started to walk off, chitchatting happily.  
  
Nuriko grabbed Katherine and pulled her back into the bushes while Kouji similarity seized Christina.  
  
"We're still trying not to get caught!" Kouji warned Christina.  
  
*  
  
After a few minutes of creeping around and slipping through open windows, the group was all inside the Mt. Leikaku hideout once again. Nuriko and Hotohori still didn't trust the two bandits, but they listened as Christina and Katherine explained the situation.  
  
"I think I understand now. Do you two really want to help them?" Hotohori asked the priestesses.  
  
"And just how do you know all of this already, Katherine?" Nuriko asked suspiciously.  
  
Katherine and Christina just stuttered while Nuriko, Hotohori, Genrou, and Kouji looked at them skeptically.  
  
"Umm...Uh..." Katherine muttered.  
  
"It's a girl thing," Christina explained.  
  
"Yeah, girls are just special like that," Katherine agreed while Genrou rolled his eyes.  
  
"Women!" he muttered.  
  
"What have you got against women?" Christina asked, starting to slightly raise her voice.  
  
"Are you gay or something?" Katherine added heatedly.  
  
"HEY!!!" Nuriko and Christina protested loudly.  
  
"There they are!" a voice from down the hall yelled. Half-dozen bandits began running towards the group.  
  
"Aww, hell!" Kouji yelled angrily.  
  
"Leave them to me!" Genrou yelled, standing in front of Christina and Katherine. He lifted his talisman up and yelled, "Come forth, wolves!!" Ten huge, snarling wolves appeared and started attacking the bandits.  
  
"Look out!" Hotohori yelled before an immense wall of flames appeared, incinerating all of Genrou's wolves.  
  
Eiken stood before them, holding the tessen, with an army of bandits behind him. "So, Genrou, you've come! Can't make any more wolves appear, huh?" Eiken laughed.  
  
Nuriko looked over at Hotohori, as if asking permission. Hotohori shook his head.  
  
"No, Nuriko. We can't fight! Tasuki might be among them!"  
  
"Dammit! These guys won't help us fight?!" Genrou asked irritably. Everyone except Christina was glaring at Eiken and the thugs behind him.  
  
Christina was staring, her mouth ajar, at what was behind the mass of brigands. She turned her head back at Genrou, who was still standing beside her, and then back at the spectacle she was so interested in. Tasuki was sneaking around behind the bandits. She continued to gawk at Tasuki, or at least the phantom of him. It did make sense that he was there, since she had written 'Tasuki' on the card. And Genrou had said that a phantom of whatever she wrote down would appear. She quickly realized how ideally perfect her idea was.  
  
Without warning, she charged at Eiken. He obviously wasn't expecting Christina to run at him and tried to wrestle the tessen from his grasp, so he wasn't exactly on his guard. She grabbed and pulled as hard as she could. Christina had a little brother and sister, so she was practically a pro at fighting over objects. They were both putting up a magnificent fight. Christina stole a glance over Eiken's shoulder and saw 'Tasuki' was stealthily knocking out bandits as he made his way, undetected, towards Eiken.  
  
Everyone else was frozen unexpectedly by this strange turn in events. All they could do was watch as the small girl and Eiken struggled for control of the tessen.  
  
"What is she DOING!?" Katherine thought. "Don't tell me she wrote 'Tamahome' on one of his talisman!"  
  
Eiken saw the girl looking behind him for a moment and saw his chance. He gave her arm a peculiar twist and locked his arm around her slender neck. With his free hand, he searched through his clothes until he found his dagger, which he brought up to her neck.Christina felt the cold steel of a razor-sharp blade pressing into her neck. It was so close to her skin that she was afraid to even swallow, or breathe for that matter.  
  
"Genrou!" Eiken called delightedly. "What're ya gonna do?! You make one move and I'll kill her!"  
  
Genrou furiously narrowed his eyes into slits angrily while Kouji's gaze hardened. "Just how low will you sink?!" Genrou asked furiously.  
  
Suddenly, as if out of nowhere, a wind blew through the hallway, and moments later, Eiken was no longer holding a dagger. While Eiken glanced confusedly around the room, Christina took her chance and ran back to her friends.  
  
The group barely noticed; they were too busy gaping at the boy standing a few feet away, smirking familiarly. Genrou looked at his mirror image in disbelief, as did Kouji and everyone else in the room, with the exception of Christina.  
  
"Let's count the Genrous!" she whispered in Katherine's ear mockingly, remembering all the times Katherine said the exact same thing. "One, two! One, two! What could be better than two Genrous? Unless it's three Genrous! Or four Genrous! Or a bazillion Genrous!"  
  
Katherine was too shocked to hit her sardonic friend. The apparition of Genrou then proceeded to beat up the bandits. He kicked Eiken in the gut, causing the thug to drop the tessen and fall to the floor, trying to find his breath. The iron fan slid across the tile floor and stopped a few feet away from Eiken.  
  
Genrou, the real Genrou, bent down and picked the tessen off the ground.  
  
"The fan..." Eiken gasped breathlessly.  
  
"You're just a LITTLE too late." Genrou said, slowly forming his trademark smirk "I took it back."  
  
"You're finished, Eiken," Kouji stated simply as the phantasm of Genrou vanished into thin air.  
  
To be continued...  
  
AN2: If you guys haven't noticed...THERE ARE SPOILERS IN THIS FIC. Sorry for not pointing this out earlier. We will try to try to tell you when major spoilers appear (aka...deaths), but other than that it's kinda hard to pinpoint every single spoiler, considering the fic has so many. Sorry for any inconvenience.  
  
~Nyan Nyan and Mrs. Tasuki~  
  
FUSHIGI AKUGI  
  
Katherine popped up next to Christina and hugged her friend.  
  
"Hey!"  
  
"Hey Katherine!"  
  
"So what happened?" Katherine asked her friend, glancing over at Genrou for a second.  
  
"Well..." Christina started, trying to sound innocent as she focused her gaze on the ground.  
  
"You destroyed the ceremony, didn't you?" Katherine stated, glaring at her friend, referring to the fact that the priestess had to be pure. Christina just bit her bottom lip. "How could you?!"  
  
"We got caught up in the moment! But...we still have you don't we?" Christina asked meekly, trying to get the focus off of her.  
  
"Ummmm..."  
  
"Katherine! You naughty girl!" Christina shouted  
  
"It was part of his birthday present!" she shouted back defensively. 


	16. Episode 15: Night in the Stronghold

AN: This episode is dedicated to Kai and Jackie. This one's for you! ~Nyan Nyan and Mrs. Tasuki~  
  
Episode 15:  
  
Night in the Stronghold  
  
By: Nyan Nyan and Mrs. Tasuki  
  
"Whoo..." Joan sighed with relief. "I was so worried."  
  
"Wait, if we're calling this dangerous..." Diana started to point out, "It gets even worse later on!"  
  
"I don't think this is such a great idea anymore," Joan said. "It was fun at first, but now it's just too dodgy."  
  
"They should really come home," Diana said worriedly. Though she wasn't related by blood to any of the other three, Diana viewed Joan, Christina, and Katherine as her own sisters; they returned the sentiment with equal feelings. Out of the corner of her eye, Diana saw more words appearing on the pages of the Universe of the Four Gods. She looked down at the book in Joan's lap, reading the words as soon as they appeared. Joan looked over her shoulder at Diana, who was still reading the story aloud as it wrote itself.  
  
"The bandits deeply apologized to the Lady Katherine and Lady Christina. The Priestesses graciously forgave them," Diana murmured quietly, reading the passage more to herself than to Joan.  
  
*  
  
"Genrou, look. We're really sorry," one of the bandits guiltily confessed.  
  
"Forget it!" Genrou said with a wave of his hand, as if simply brushing away what had happened.  
  
"But Genrou..." yet another bandit interrupted.  
  
"If yer gonna thank anyone, it oughta be the Priestesses of Suzaku here!" he pointed out as he gently knocked his knuckles against Christina's head. She looked up questioningly. "They're the reason I'm leader now," he continued.  
  
"He's got a point," the men muttered.  
  
"Thanks, yer ladyships," another brigand said.  
  
"Before you came along, we were jest ignorin' th' old boss's orders."  
  
"No prob," Christina modestly said.  
  
"Yeah, really," Katherine humbly, shrugging her shoulders added, "It was nothing."  
  
"So what can we do t' thank you?" Kouji asked the girls.  
  
"It'd be a big help if we could crash here tonight," Christina said as she looked outside at the scenery, now blanketed in darkness. Katherine nodded in agreement. Nuriko and Hotohori looked at each other questioningly, not sure whether or not to trust the bandits again. In turn, the rest of the bandits looked at each other, also skeptically, wondering if Genrou and Kouji would actually allow the strange group to stay the night.  
  
"It'd be no problem a'tall. 'S the leas' we can do for ya," Genrou answered, politely but uneasily, not knowing what kind of mischief the two priestesses might cause.  
  
*  
  
Tamahome and Miaka were eating dinner in Tamahome's room, a practice which had become part of their everyday routine. They had gotten to know each other quite well in the short amount of time they had known one another. Tamahome stared into space, his mind noticeably filling with worry he could no longer ignore.  
  
"Miaka...can I ask you something?" he said awkwardly while fiddling with his chopsticks.  
  
"Sure," Miaka replied, her mouth full with food. Her large eyes looked innocently up at him, twinkling in the setting sun.  
  
"Um...I was just wondering...why didn't you come with me when you had the chance?" he asked uneasily, referring to the crisis they had faced in the Seiryuu shrine.  
  
He watched Miaka's face go blank with a guilty twinge appearing in her eyes. She swallowed the food she was chewing in one big gulp as she stared at him, motionless, for a couple seconds. "Um...I'm sorry...I should be going," Miaka stammered, suspiciously at a loss of words. She quickly stood up and left the room, leaving Tamahome dumbfounded.  
  
*  
  
Katherine and Christina opted that they would spend their time on something productive. Christina was sprawled on one end of the bed they were sharing, wearing a white tank top and a pair of tiny blue boxers. Katherine was sitting on the other side of the bed, wearing a navy blue spaghetti strap tank and matching long pants with moons and stars scattered all over them.  
  
"Hey, I was thinking-" Katherine started.  
  
"Good for you," Christina interrupted condescendingly.  
  
"Shut up," Katherine snapped. "Anyway, what are we gonna do about Amiboshi and Mitsukake?"  
  
"I dunno," Christina replied, stretching her arms.  
  
"Well, we should figure something out," Katherine pointed out, utterly vexed. She found it so hard to get Christina to focus on anything for more than a few minutes; Christina had the shortest attention span of anyone Katherine knew.  
  
"I hate you," Christina complained, cursing Katherine's persistence to stay on-topic.  
  
"That's good to know," Katherine answered sarcastically. "But we still need to figure something out."  
  
"Stop being so pushy!" Christina complained.  
  
"Well, someone has to be," Katherine replied, knowing that this banter was leading into one of the joke fights they so commonly had.  
  
"Are you implying something?" Christina questioned, barely paying attention. She was more interested in staring at the ceiling than in Katherine's ramblings.  
  
"Yes, I am."  
  
"Good, just wanted to make sure," Christina replied calmly.  
  
"Okey dokey then..." Katherine slowly said, not knowing how to respond to her friend's placid comment. "But we really need to figure out what the hell we are doing," she repeated as Christina sighed heavily.  
  
"Fine...first things first. What are we gonna do about Mitsukake?"  
  
"Well, what about Tasuki?" Katherine questioned.  
  
"What do you mean?" Christina asked confusedly.  
  
"Well, are we gonna tell him we know he's Tasuki, or what?"  
  
"I think we should let him choose for himself. Or whatever..." Christina mumbled, becoming harder to hear with each word. Katherine drummed her fingers on the bed sheets.  
  
"But what if he hates you and never wants to see your ugly face again?" Katherine joked. Christina gasped, completely taken aback.  
  
"You better run away before I step on you, you midget!" she shouted angrily, jumping to her feet. Katherine's eyes went wide and her jaw dropped, she was very touchy about her height. It also didn't help very much that Christina was merely two inches taller.  
  
"YOU'RE DEAD!" she yelled. Christina ran out into the hall, laughing at Katherine's melodramatic reaction. She turned around to see Katherine right at her heels.  
  
"I'm gonna get you!" Katherine laughed, trying to sound dangerous.  
  
Christina turned back around and sped up, sprinting down the hall as Katherine followed close behind. She ran through a series of corridors, twisting and turning down as many as she could. After a few minutes, she finally slowed down, no longer seeing Katherine trailing behind her. She collapsed against a wall, taking deep, ragged breaths. Deciding that it would be hilarious if she scared Katherine, Christina hid right at the edge of a corner wall, visible to only those who had already made the turn.  
  
Christina willed herself not to breathe loudly, even though she was still out of breath. She covered her mouth as she spotted a shadow advancing towards her. The shadow turned the corner, and Christina jumped out and yelled, "AHHHHHHHHHHH!" at the top of lungs.  
  
"SHIT!" Kouji shouted as he stumbled back in surprise.  
  
Christina started laughing loudly at the shocked look on the bandit's face. "Sorry, Kouji! I thought you were Katherine!"  
  
"What're ya doin' down here?" Kouji asked irritably, once he had gotten over the fright of the fifteen year-old girl had given him. "Yer room's all the way down there!" he exclaimed, pointing down the series of halls.  
  
*  
  
Katherine felt the white tiles passing under her feet. Off in the distance she saw Christina talking to Kouji; this inspired her to run faster. "You are such toast!" she shouted. Christina gave one look at Katherine, eyes wide. Kouji turned in time to see Katherine darting towards Christina and himself.  
  
"FUCK!" Christina yelled as she turned on her heel and ran as fast as she could, still tailed by Katherine, laughing as the pair dashed down the hall. Kouji shook his head. Granted, they were priestesses from another world, and an entirely different culture, but they were simply strange nonetheless.  
  
Katherine continued to chase Christina, sprinting at full speed. They turned countless corners, probably retracing their steps dozens of times. Christina snuck a glance behind her to see how far Katherine was behind her. She turned left down a corridor and focused on the space in front of her. She tried to skid to a stop when she spotted someone right in front of her, but didn't stop fast enough.  
  
Genrou was walking down one of Mt. Leikaku's many passageways, trying to find Kouji. He was just about to turn a corner when a small, clearly distracted, figure came hurtling towards him. The girl turned her head back around, spotting him all too late, and unsuccessfully tried to stop.  
  
He quickly grabbed her shoulders, preventing her from knocking them both to the floor. Christina gasped in surprise and he looked down at her, as if demanding an explanation.  
  
"Ummm...hi?"  
  
"What're you doin' down here?" he asked, looking her over. Her clothes were nothing less than bizarre, not to mention barely there.  
  
"Ummm..." Christina said again as she tried to think of a good excuse. "I was just...uhhh..."  
  
"Hey, Chris-" Katherine shouted as she rounded the corner. Genrou and Christina turned their heads at the noise. Genrou saw Katherine and immediately snapped his hands off of Christina's shoulders and back to his sides, as if not wanting anyone to know he even touched girls.  
  
Katherine, seeing Christina and Genrou together and thinking they had been having 'a moment' that she had just interrupted, promptly turned around and ran back down the hall, afraid that Christina might run after and pummel her.  
  
Christina, seeing Katherine leave, looked back up at Genrou. "Well, that's my cue! Exit, stage left!" she yelled as she chased after Katherine. After a minute or so, Christina had caught up with her friend.  
  
"Don't kill me," Katherine pleaded.  
  
"Huh?" Christina questioned.  
  
"What are you two doing down here?!" a voice scolded.  
  
"Not again..." Christina sighed heavily.  
  
Christina and Katherine turned around and saw Nuriko standing in the middle of the hall, his right hand resting on his hip.  
  
"Hey there, Nuriko," Christina greeted, trying to act innocent. Katherine took one look at the angry look on Nuriko's face and knew that fun-time was over.  
  
"Will you two get back in your room?" Nuriko asked, advancing on them. "I can trust Koji and Genrou, but not the rest of the thugs around here," Nuriko told them, lowering his voice until it was barely above a whisper. "What do you think Hotohori would do if he found you talking to one of the bandits down there?" he asked them, trying to prove his point to the priestesses how their fun could easily have turned into an ugly fight.  
  
"Well, first he would pull out his sword and threaten to decapitate the bandit with it, thinking that he was, like, trying to molest us or something," Katherine explained with full confidence. Nuriko just bit his bottom lip, trying to hold back his laughter. Katherine was right.  
  
"Then he would say, 'I demand an explanation!' Christina continued, mocking his deep voice. "And he would go into slice-and-dice mode."  
  
"'Cuz he comes to irrational conclusions about people like that," Katherine stated.  
  
"I come to irrational conclusions about people?" Hotohori interrupted, putting emphasis on the word 'I', drawing attention to the equally mistaken conclusion they were making about him. He was leaning on the door frame with his arms crossed, one eyebrow raised.  
  
Christina and Katherine suddenly jumped, shocked to hear his voice.  
  
"How long has he been behind us?" Katherine whispered, becoming tense.  
  
"How the hell should I know?" Christina hissed back.  
  
They both turned around with wide, guilty smiles on their face. "Hi!" they chimed cheerfully in unison. Hotohori nodded, acknowledging their greeting.  
  
"How are you feeling this lovely night?" Katherine asked innocently as Christina side-stepped behind Nuriko, using him for a shield.  
  
"Just go back to your room, okay?" Nuriko asked them, saving Hotohori from answering such a random question.  
  
Katherine agreed quickly. Nuriko looked over at Christina and raised his eyebrows. He wasn't going to budge until he heard an 'Okay' from Christina.  
  
"Loud and clear," Christina stated as she jokingly saluted Nuriko. Nuriko gave Christina a look that said 'You're weird,' and the four of them started to walk down the hall. After passing a few doors, Nuriko and Hotohori brought them right outside the door to their room.  
  
"If you need Hotohori or me, we're in the room right over there," he told them as he pointed to the room behind them that Hotohori had just entered.  
  
"Okay," Katherine acknowledged.  
  
"G'night, Nuriko," Christina said as she and Katherine walked into their room. "'Nite Hotohori!"  
  
"Sweet dreams!" Katherine called across the hall as Nuriko opened the door to his own room.  
  
"Will you two do me a favor, shut up, and get some sleep?" Nuriko implored.  
  
"You got it," they answered as they closed the door to their room.  
  
*  
  
The next morning, the group went to ask the bandits if anyone knew who Tasuki was. Katherine and Christina wouldn't have bothered, but they didn't want Nuriko or Hotohori to get suspicious about why they suddenly gave up the search for the fifth sei, and so made the inquiry for form's sake.  
  
"Before we leave, is there anyone here called Tasuki?" Katherine asked.  
  
"Yeah, or someone who sometimes has a symbol appear on his body?" Christina added.  
  
The many bandits whispered and murmured in question.  
  
"Tasuki?"  
  
"Who's that?"  
  
"I never heard of him..."  
  
"Eiken, do you know him?"  
  
"I-I really don't know who he is," Eiken stammered.  
  
"I know him."  
  
Genrou suddenly spoke, and all eyes turned to focus curiously on the flame- haired bandit leader. "But don't get too excited. That guy Tasuki...he's th' old boss. In other words, he's already dead."  
  
Nuriko and Hotohori's faces fell as Katherine and Christina did their best to look worried.  
  
"Sorry to say this, but you can't bring the dead back to life," Genrou continued apologetically.  
  
"Oh yeah, Genrou," Kouji remembered. "Do you want to visit the boss's grave? You probably miss him too..."  
  
*  
  
Genrou walked towards the lone coffin in the center of the tomb. He sadly placed his hand on the coffin. "Boss..." he muttered forlornly. Christina and Katherine looked at all of the bandits' gloomy faces, sensing how much they missed their old leader.  
  
"Hotohori, what will we do? Without Tasuki..." Nuriko whispered to the emperor.  
  
"Yes, but you can't resurrect the dead," Hotohori quietly replied. Suddenly, a bandit came up next to Genrou and cleared his throat, as if asking permission to speak.  
  
"Um, boss? You see, I've heard this rumor..."  
  
"What?" Genrou asked, irritable at the bandit for interrupting his memories of the old boss.  
  
"In Choko, to the north...there's supposed to be someone who CAN bring the dead back to life."  
  
"Are you serious?!" Nuriko asked loudly, grabbing the man's collar.  
  
"Well, as serious as y' can be for a rumor."  
  
Katherine and Christina looked at each other, and then Katherine nodded, signaling Christina that she ought to make the next move, which, of course, they had expected.  
  
"Then we'll go there," Christina stated in such a voice that Hotohori and Nuriko knew that she would not reconsider the idea.  
  
*  
  
The bandits gave four horses to the group, wondering why the girls had requested two extra steeds. The outlaws could only watch in disbelief as Christina and Katherine mounted their own horses. Many of the men muttered to each other, still not believing that girls would dare ride horses by themselves, let alone girls from another world, who were now straddling the saddles as skillfully and nonchalantly as any man. The priestesses and two seishi said their final goodbyes from atop their horses.  
  
"Byeness!" Christina called as she waved her hand through the air.  
  
"See ya later!" Katherine called as the group galloped off towards the town of Choko.  
  
"There they go," Genrou said, watching their retreating backs.  
  
"Those girls are really weird. Amusin'...but weird," Koji commented.  
  
"We're sure actin' strange because of 'em. You'd think we'd all forgotten how t' act like bandits," Genrou chuckled. The rest of the men walked back into the hideout, still talking about the exotic young women who rode horses as well as men and ran about as recklessly as children.  
  
"Ferget it," Kouji shrugged. "I'm just relieved tha' yer the boss now, Genrou."  
  
Kouji turned and started to follow the rest of the crowd into the stronghold. He turned back around when he realized Genrou wasn't following after him, but still watching as the group of horsemen and women journeyed further and further away.  
  
"The Priestesses of Suzaku, huh?" Kouji thought out loud. "You really wanted t' go with 'em, didn't ya?"  
  
"Don't be stupid," Genrou reassured his friend. "You think I'd turn my back on the boss's wishes and on all you guys? Besides, I hate wimmen, remember?"  
  
"Then, you're sure it's better this way?" Kouji asked as they started walking back inside. Genrou paused one last time, and stole a glance over his shoulder.  
  
"Still," Kouji added, "You gotta admit, they sure were easy on th' eyes!"  
  
Genrou turned around and continued walking inside, rolling his eyes and sighing at Kouji's unfathomable interest in girls.  
  
*  
  
Katherine reached down into one of her saddlebags, searching for her water canteen. She dug frantically through the bag while still trying to control her horse with one hand. Finally, she found it and brought it out, but once it was open and she tried drinking some, she noticed that it was empty.  
  
Parched, Katherine asked, "Hey, do you guys happen to have any water?"  
  
"Nope, sorry," Nuriko replied, shrugging his shoulders. "We all ran out of water a while ago, but there's a pond somewhere by here."  
  
"Um...we passed that pond a bit back," Christina pointed out, remembering seeing it on their way to Choko.  
  
"Okay, then nevermind," Nuriko said. He bit his bottom lip, not knowing what to do. They had no idea how long it would take to get to Choko, and they needed water immediately. "One of us should go back and fill up the canteens," he advised.  
  
"I will," Hotohori volunteered, turning his horse around.  
  
"Wait, I'll go with you," Katherine said, knowing that it wouldn't be a smart idea for anyone to be separated from the group. "We'll catch up with you guys later!" she called back as they galloped away.  
  
"We should probably take a break so they can catch up," Christina advised.  
  
Nuriko and Christina watched as Katherine and Hotohori rode back towards the stream they had previously visited. They dismounted off of their horses and tied them to a tree, glad to take a rest, no matter how short.  
  
They stretched their legs and sat down on a patch of grass. Christina stared up at the blue sky and allowed her mind to wander. She looked at the puffy white clouds that floated high above the tops of the trees, out of reach of the emerald leaves. Before she knew it, she imagined Genrou's face in front of her. She sighed at the very thought of him. He was so damn good- looking. She rolled her eyes at herself as she remembered her loss of words the night before.  
  
Christina hated how she always acted so differently around guys she was interested in. She had absolutely no problems with diction around Nuriko or Tamahome, but put her in front of Genrou for a minute and she can't even form sentences. Pathetic. "God, I must have seemed like an idiot," she thought to herself, silently laughing.  
  
"And what are YOU thinking about?" Nuriko interrupted, almost making Christina jump at the sudden surprise.  
  
"Nothing..."  
  
"Uh huh..." Nuriko said knowingly, winking.  
  
"And what do you mean by 'uh huh'?"  
  
"What do you think I mean?" Nuriko teased.  
  
"You are SO mean to me," Christina joked, still looking at the light blue sky.  
  
"Am not," he argued.  
  
"Are too."  
  
"Am-" Nuriko started, but stopped short. Christina turned her head towards Nuriko, wondering what was wrong. Nuriko stared into the woods behind them, his head cocked, listening to every sound.  
  
Christina stared into the forest also. Her head snapping around at any sound she heard. A rustle of leaves, a cracking twig.  
  
Suddenly, a mass of men jumped out from the woods. Nuriko and Christina scrambled up and scurried to mount their horses, but found themselves completely surrounded by thugs. Over a dozen thieves attacked Nuriko and Christina. They both fought back valiantly, even though the odds were utterly against them.  
  
*  
  
Hotohori and Katherine dismounted their horses and approached the tranquil pond. Katherine took out the four canteens and kneeled down by the water. She took off the top of one and put it in the water, waiting for the water to flow into it. Hotohori walked behind her and watched her for a moment. She pushed her tawny hair over her left shoulder, hoping not to get it wet.  
  
Katherine suddenly felt warm arms around her waist. She was slightly startled from the spontaneous embrace, causing her to let go of the canteen in the pond, but once she felt silky brown hair caress her cheek, she relaxed. She felt Hotohori's fingers run through her wavy hair. She turned her head to look into his golden brown eyes. He tilted her chin up with his hand and moved his lips closer to hers. Katherine closed her eyes, forgetting about the Hotohori she once knew. The one she had seen on her television so many times, the one that risked everything for Miaka. She let all her preconceived assumptions about the emperor leave her memory, and she embraced this new one with all her heart.  
  
*  
  
A dozen men jumped at Nuriko, trying to knock him unconscious. Nuriko beat men aside like they weighed nothing. Christina, on the other hand, tried to beat up as many muggers as she could. They soon outnumbered her, and one particularly muscular thug easily picked her up and ran off into the forest with her over his shoulder. As he ran through the brush, Christina banged her fists on his back and tried to kick his face. With one thump on her head, the thug knocked her unconscious. Her body became suddenly limp, bouncing up and down as he ran like a rag doll.  
  
The dozen men attacking Nuriko decided to give up on the sei; he was too hard to beat and they already had one hostage anyway. The men quickly retreated into the woods. Nuriko looked around the clearing, finally able to see with the absence of the crowd of bandits. Christina was nowhere in sight.  
  
"Christina!" he called. Nuriko looked into the forest where the crooks had left. He dashed off into the darkness of the wood.  
  
*  
  
Tamahome sat on the side of his bed with his face in his hands, wondering what to do about Miaka. He didn't want to lose her. Miaka always had a smile on her face; she was beginning to grow on him, but he couldn't admit, knowing that he would be leaving her soon and confessing his attachment would mean more pain for the both of them in the long run.  
  
He began to curse himself for saying something as stupid as to her. He stood up, deciding that maybe if he found her, he could apologize for being so mistrustful.  
  
As he walked towards the door it slowly opened to reveal Miaka standing there uneasily. "Oh...hey, I was just about to go out and find you," Tamahome said nervously, rubbing the back of his neck.  
  
"Oh, okay..." Miaka replied while looking intently at her feet. "Well, I have to tell you something..." she continued, walking over to the bed and sitting on it.  
  
"Oh, well I just wanted to ap-" Tamahome started, but was cut short.  
  
"I have to become the Priestess of Seiryuu," Miaka quickly said, before Tamahome finished his sentence. Tamahome's blue eyes widened in shock, not knowing how to respond. "I have no choice..." she muttered under her breath, tears already starting to form in her eyes.  
  
"But...why?" Tamahome asked, sitting next to her on the bed, completely flabbergasted.  
  
"When I first came to this world, I was attacked," Miaka started, looking at the floor and nervously playing with her hands. She paused for a second as she felt the tears run down her cheeks. "I was in the downtown section of the capital alone and a couple men came up and..." she continued, not wanting to finish her sentence.  
  
"When I woke up Nakago was there, he took care of the men who had hurt me, and nursed me back to health. Once I was healthy, I didn't want to admit I was...that I was raped. I even thought of suicide, but that was too drastic, and I could never go through with it. Anyways, I owe Nakago my life; I have to repay him somehow, so..." she trailed off as she looked up at Tamahome. She shrugged her shoulders with a slight smile on her face, even though her eyes were red and puffy from crying. "I just thought you deserved some type of explanation," she said, standing up.  
  
Tamahome looked down at his hand, biting his bottom lip. He felt so ashamed of himself for mistrusting her reasoning. He heard her walk towards the doorway, and glanced up, hoping she wasn't leaving him.  
  
Miaka rubbed her eyes, walking towards the doorway. She suddenly felt warm arms wrap around her waist.  
  
"I'm so sorry," she heard Tamahome whisper in her ear as he rested his chin on her shoulder. Miaka placed her hands on his arms and closed her eyes, feeling at ease for the first time since she had been in Kutou.  
  
*  
  
Hotohori and Katherine galloped out of the woods, trying to catch up with Nuriko and Christina. Katherine scanned the landscape, trying to find where Nuriko and Christina might be waiting. Off in the distance she saw two horses stranded. "Uh-oh..." she mumbled under her breath as she stopped her horse, knowing that Christina and Nuriko wouldn't have abandoned their horses for no reason. She quickly glanced over at Hotohori, who had brought his horse to a halt too; he looked towards her simultaneously. They both knew that something had to have happened and started to gallop towards the abandoned stallions. They noticed the grass they traveled over was driven into the ground, trampled. They dismounted their horses once they reached the deserted mares in order to look around some more.  
  
They walked quickly around the clearing, searching for any clues as to where Nuriko and Christina were.  
  
"Christina! Nuriko!" Katherine called. She and Hotohori explored around the clearing in hopes that their friends would waltz out of the woods so they could continue their journey to Choko. Katherine worriedly wrung her hands, wondering where they could be hiding.  
  
"Nuriko!" Hotohori yelled from behind Katherine. She turned around to the see the purple-haired sei stomping out of the forest, dragging behind him one of the bandits that had attacked Christina and himself.  
  
"Nuriko!" Katherine yelled happily, sure that Christina was right behind him. She ran up to Nuriko, wondering who the man was. "Where's Christina?"  
  
Nuriko shrugged angrily and tossed the man onto the grass in front of Katherine and Hotohori. They looked up at Nuriko questioningly, still wanting to know who the strange man was.  
  
"When you two left," Nuriko started to explain, "All these guys attacked us...and I guess they carried off Christina."  
  
Nuriko glared at the man. "And he's going to tell us where they're taking her," he informed Katherine, Hotohori, and the bandit.  
  
The man looked around in fear, wondering what the strange group would do to him. His eyes darted around the clearing, looking for the best escape route. He jumped up, knocked Katherine to the ground, and sprinted into the forest. Nuriko turned around to chase after the man, but instead quickly shielded his eyes from the intense whirlwind that had suddenly emerged.  
  
Genrou appeared from the midst of the air stream, holding the thug by his collar.  
  
"Tas- Genrou?" Katherine asked incredulously as Hotohori helped her up from the grass.  
  
"I saw some guys skulkin' 'round the hideout," the tawny-eyed bandit explained as he dropped the man onto the ground, "turns out they're from Mount Kaou."  
  
"Where?" Nuriko asked.  
  
"Mount Kaou. Where's Christina?" he asked as he looked around, not seeing the girl with her companions.  
  
"He knows," Nuriko said as he pointed to the man on the soil, who looked as though he was about to either wet himself or make another run for it.  
  
"N-No, I d-don't! Really!" he lied. Genrou quickly removed the tessen from its sheath and brought it up against the man's neck.  
  
"You know what this can do, don't ya?" he smirked.  
  
"O-OKAY! OKAY!" the utterly frightened man confessed quickly, frightened by the prospect of death. "They're prob'ly takin' her back t' the mountain! To sell 'er or somethin'! I don't know!"  
  
"Which way would they be going?" Nuriko asked.  
  
"That-a-way!" he stammered, pointing in the direction where the shortcut to Mt. Kaou was. Genrou removed the tessen from its place at the man's throat and put it back in its scabbard. He threw the man to the ground.  
  
"Yer lucky I got more important matters than dealin' with you," Genrou threatened. The man sat for a few seconds before realizing that he was dismissed, the scrambled to his feet and ran away, down the path that led towards the city, not wanting to get involved with either mountain for the time being.  
  
To be continued...  
  
AN2: If you guys didn't quite notice yet...we do say "fuck" in this fanfic. We will not be changing our rating, considering that PG-13 movies say "fuck." We will not censor it either, since when you see "f*ck", you pretty much know what it's implying. We are not trying to be offensive; we are just using language that is common for teenagers to use. Oh! And getting kind of off topic, we added a FUSHIGI AKUGI to chapter 15! Please check it out!  
  
~Mrs. Tasuki and Nyan Nyan~ 


	17. Episode 16: Delusion of Fear

Authors' Note: Sorry about the delay, but we had to completely rewrite this episode. Not to mention it was, DUN DUN DUN, TIME FOR FINAL EXAMS! (for Mrs. Tasuki anyway) *Mrs. T runs away in fear* Finally, here it is for your viewing pleasure.  
  
Episode 16:  
  
Delusion of Fear  
  
By: Mrs. Tasuki and Nyan Nyan  
  
Christina woke up on the forest floor with a pounding headache. She struggled to sit up, dry leaves and pieces of dirt sticking to her clothes. She assumed that she couldn't have been knocked out for too long, since golden sunlight was still streaming through the leaves of the trees. She looked down at her hands, after becoming annoyed enough with about the stinging pain in her wrists. To investigate its cause, she found her hands were tied with thick pieces of rope at the wrists.  
  
Christina looked around slowly, taking in her surroundings. About a dozen men, including the robust one who had abducted her, were sitting around a small fire a few yards away. Their appearance was unkempt; they were poorly- dressed and had a look about them that suggested terrible hygiene. One of the most particularly dirty-looking bandits walked over to her to see if she was awake. He kicked her, not too gently, and smirked when she cried out in pain.  
  
"Yeah, she's awake!" he yelled over at his companions. Muttering a string of curses, the brute turned and walked back to the fire, resentful of the effort being asked of him. Christina clutched her stomach, trying to catch her breath.  
  
"Finally!" A man with a face like a rat exclaimed. He had dark, beady eyes and an evil-looking grin.  
  
"She woulda been up earlier if ya didn't hit her so hard, you moron," the first ruffian shouted to the large man.  
  
"And if I didn't hit her so hard, she probably woulda called her friend."  
  
"Well, at least we can go now," another man said. Christina looked around again and saw about ten horses tied to various trees. The large man stomped on the fire until it was out and then swathed it with dirt, covering their tracks.  
  
The men untied their horses from the trees. One particular bandit with dirty-blonde hair came towards Christina and tied a long piece of rope to the knot on her wrists. He attached to the rope to the saddle of one of the stallions.  
  
"Keep up 'er you'll be dragged all th' way t' Mt. Kaou," one of the men stated mercilessly as he mounted his horse.  
  
Half of the men followed behind Christina to make sure she didn't escape somehow. The man who rode on the horse she was tied to had jet black hair and eyes that looked like endless black tunnels. She had a feeling that he would not be the type of person who would pity her and ride slowly. The men began riding through the forest. Christina felt a painful jerk on her wrists and started to jog after the horse, making sure not to lag behind.  
  
Luckily, the trees were fairly close together, preventing the horses from going too fast. But there was enough space between the trees for the group of bandits. As they darted through the forest, she attempted to maintain a steady pace, but the bandits began discouraging her. She soon found that if she ran, the man would feel the slack in the rope and speed up, and if she pulled the line too tautly, he would speed up so she would run to keep the cords from cutting into her wrists. After running for about twenty minutes, she had gotten used to the pace and found a happy medium between a jog and sprint.  
  
"How much do ya think we'll get fer her?!" the blond asked.  
  
"Depends on whether she's a virgin or not, you idiot," the rodent-like man answered arrogantly.  
  
"Well, her looks alone will fetch a nice price no matter what," the large man pointed out as the rest murmured in agreement. Christina desperately wished they would change the subject. Listening to discussion of one's prospective selling price while running behind a horse with one's hands tied together was not the most pleasant activity Christina could think of.  
  
Every once in a while, she would stumble over a tree root; right as she teetered between balance and toppling over, the rope would tug her hands up, helping her regain her equilibrium, but her wrists would burn from the friction of the ropes. Her rough, ragged gasps for breath were swallowed by the noise of pounding hooves and dry, swirling leaves. Kicked-up pieces of twigs, earth, and leaves flew through the wind, and, along with the cold air, tore at her face and ears.  
  
The horse sped up and Christina was forced to break into a run. The forest was starting to get darker and Christina could see the sky had changed from powder blue to a collage of purples, reds, and pinks. The sun was fading fast behind the horizon, taking the last of the golden light with it.  
  
Christina's side had been aching for hours now, and her legs felt like they were about to fall off. She cursed the stitch in her side. Even though she was used to getting them when she ran the mile in gym class, she never ran continuously for such a long time, and the pain was unbearable.  
  
*  
  
When it had become so dark that Christina could barely see the horses and bandits ahead of her, she felt her rope become slack. They were stopping.  
  
Christina hoped to Suzaku that they hadn't arrived at Mt. Kaou, wherever that was.  
  
The bandits tied their horses to a tree and lit a large fire. Small embers flew into the air while the fire crackled merrily. The fire was too far away to provide warmth, or comfort, for that matter, for Christina. The man with the black hair came over and untied the long piece of rope from the knot on her wrist. She stared into the depths of his shadowy eyes as he removed the ropes around her wrists. She glanced down at her wrists and saw that the abrasions were wide, red, and raw. She kneaded her wrists with her hands as quickly as she could before they tied her up again.  
  
"Come here," the man with the dark hair instructed. Christina didn't move, but she glared at him as hatefully as she could. He seemed to think it was funny, that she acted so impudent, even though the state of her clothes suggested that she'd been through an earthquake, a hurricane, and a tornado in the same day. "Come here," he said again, holding up a water canteen. He shook it, so she could hear the presence of water. Christina swallowed, her throat so dry that it hurt. She walked over to the man, who held the canteen above her head and tipped it, letting her drink a steady stream of water.  
  
After a few moments, he put the canteen away. She quickly licked her lips, drinking the remaining moisture before it evaporated. She inattentively smoothed the hair out of her face, and then, realizing that she still had a white hair tie on her wrist, began to pull her hair into a high and messy bun.  
  
Christina's hair was just about the only thing she liked about herself. That and her eyes. And that wasn't saying very much, considering how much she complained about her hair. She played around with a few more strands until she realized that the dark-haired man was glaring at her. She glanced up at him and raised her eyebrows, as if asking him what he wanted.  
  
"Sit down," he ordered.  
  
"'Scuse me?" she asked, not understanding what he meant, as she was already seated on the dirt.  
  
"Sit down," he repeated. He pointed to a tree at the edge of the clearing they were staying in. It was a good-sized tree, thick enough for Christina to barely wrap her arms around, but tall enough that she wouldn't think of climbing it.  
  
Christina huffily sat down, her back on the tree. The bandit lifted her arms around the tree trunk and tied her wrists together. Her hands ached as another rope was tied over her rope-burned wrists. After he seemed satisfied with his craftsmanship, he rejoined his comrades by the campfire.  
  
"Well, if there's any wolves out here, they'll go fer her first!" the rodent-like man yelled lightheartedly as his friends guffawed.  
  
After another hour of vulgar stories storytelling, the bandits decided they were tired. They left the dirty-blonde haired man on guard for a couple hours, before switching with someone else.  
  
Christina was exhausted from running all day, but she distrusted the men so much that she willed herself to stay awake. She shivered, the wind blowing right through her small t-shirt and goose bumps creeping over her flesh while she trembled, alone, in the dark. She moved her arms ever so slightly, wincing when the bark scraped across her back and shoulders. She lowered her head so that it rested on her knees, trying to rack her mind for an idea how to get out of this fine mess she had landed herself in. Her brainstorm was suddenly interrupted by a loud rustling sound.  
  
She swiftly looked behind her, wondering what the noise was and where it was coming from. Another twig broke, and she turned her head quickly in the direction of the sound, which the noise had come from only a few feet away. She narrowed her eyes, trying to discern shadow from shadow. A hand clapped over her mouth, silencing her scream as a pair of tawny colored eyes appeared right in front of her.  
  
"Be quiet!" someone hissed, trying to keep their voice down. "It's me, Genrou," the bandit whispered as Christina nodded. "How're you tied up?" he asked quietly, taking his hand slowly off of her lips.  
  
"My wrists are tied together around the tree behind me," she told him, her voice barely above a whisper. He moved his hand from her right shoulder lightly down her right arm, so he could find her wrist in the dark. Christina felt him grab onto her hands and fiddle around the knot, trying to loosen it even the tiniest bit. The ropes slowly started slackening as he expertly pulled and tugged at the bonds.  
  
He carefully pulled the ropes off of her wrists, being cautious not to touch her rope-burned wrists. She rotated her shoulders back from behind her, glad to be free from her bonds. She massaged her shoulders and her wrists. Genrou carefully helped Christina to her feet. Looking behind her, she spotted Nuriko, Hotohori, and Katherine and then absentmindedly dusted the dirt and leaves from the back of her jeans.  
  
She stole a quick glance back at the Mt. Kaou bandits. The blonde one had fallen asleep, still propped up against a tree. Genrou, Christina, Hotohori, Katherine, and Nuriko started to sneak away as quietly as they could. Unfortunately, one of the group accidentally stepped on a stick, not seeing it in the dark. The stick snapped in half, emitting a loud sound. The group froze in their tracks, hoping that the men wouldn't wake.  
  
One bandit, upon hearing the breaking stick, quietly stood up and starting walking towards the tree where Christina was tied to moments before. As he got closer, he realized that the captive was no longer there.  
  
"SHE'S GONE!!!" he hollered at the top of his lungs. The bandits quickly woke up and jumped to their feet. The party from Konan ran off into the forest at top speed. The Mt. Kaou thugs quickly mounted their horses and took off after the group. They ran for miles upon miles, too desperate to put distance between the bandits and themselves to even care where they were going.  
  
After a while, they noticed that the scenery around them was steadily changing. The green foliage that covered the trees soon disappeared, leaving the lifeless plants looking like gnarled claws, protruding out of the ground to devour anyone who would dare walk close enough, the branches of the trees stretched out towards the bunch, their jagged twigs threatening to snatch them. All that could be seen beyond the trees was gray surroundings. The dry dirt below them kicked up a fine dust as they walked over it, hiding their feet from sight.  
  
"Looks like a graveyard," Nuriko whispered. The group huddled closer together, as if ready to fend off from an attack by the trees themselves.  
  
"Where's Genrou?" Katherine whispered, looking around at the daunting landscape. Nuriko and Christina shrugged simultaneously.  
  
Suddenly, the sound of hooves shattering twigs could be heard from all around them. About a dozen horses burst through the trees, surrounding the fellowship. The Mt. Kaou bandits leered at the group, surprised at their luck of not only finding their original captive, but three more along with her.  
  
"Now we can quadruple th' profit!" one yelled excitedly. The men circled in on the group, enclosing them so there was no escape.  
  
Then, unexpectedly, the steed that the man with the dirty-blonde man started to whine. The horse sank into the ground, a whirlpool of dirt burying the stallion and its rider into the earth below. The rest of the men backed away from their comrade's grave, wondering what had happened. Another horse screeched, also sinking into the dirt. Everyone looked down to see rotting hands pulling at the horses' legs. The man riding the horse jumped off, scrambling to escape the vortex of soil. He ran off into the woods, not looking back.  
  
"It's cursed!" the man with the dark hair yelled. The bandits looked around, as if daring one another to be the first to try to escape.  
  
"Give us flesh..." a raspy voice moaned as a corpse rose from the ground. It pulled itself out of the dirt, smiling a half-toothless grin. Putrid flesh dripped from the brown-stained bones. The bandits gave one look at the undead creature, and immediately turned their horses around, riding as fast as they could into the gray forest.  
  
An army of skeletons emerged from the ground, all eyeing the two priestesses and seishi hungrily. Most of the zombies had gaping holes where their eyes should have been, but a few had the remnants of decaying tissue dripping from their eye cavities. They pulled their legs from the ground, their joints popping and cracking loudly.  
  
"We won't let you escape..." they warned, their voices sounding as if their throats were filled with pins and needles.  
  
"We will devour your flesh!" a zombie yelled as it jumped at Hotohori. He unsheathed his sword and slashed at the monster, easily slicing it in half. More fiends appeared from the ground, groaning for victuals. Nuriko, who was wielding an old, dead tree trunk were knocked aside the carcasses, but another zombie suddenly seized his food  
  
"Nuriko!" Hotohori yelled, just as he was grabbed around the neck by another undead monster. He slashed at the thing, desperately trying to breath.  
  
Christina turned around to find herself face-to-face with a zombie. "Holy shit," she gasped as it grabbed hold of her neck. She tried to pull its arm away from her throat as it tightened its grip.  
  
Katherine was knocked to the ground. She looked up to see a bunch of skeletons looming above her. "What the freakin' hell?!" she screamed as she scrambled backwards, trying to escape them.  
  
"REKKA SHINEN!" a voice yelled from the shadows. The zombies above Katherine and Nuriko burst into flames, writhing and screeching in pain. The monsters that were suffocating Hotohori and Christina caught on fire and immediately let go of them, and began dancing around in a vain attempt to extinguish themselves. Piercing the cold night, the monsters' screams and the acrid smell of burning flesh filled the air.  
  
Katherine and Christina looked up to see Genrou, standing on top of a small cliff. More zombies pushed their way through the earth, attempting to take their companion's places.  
  
"I'm comin' in! Get down on th' ground!" Genrou bellowed. Katherine, Christina, Hotohori, and Nuriko quickly obey and jumped to the ground. "REKKA SHINEN!!!" he yelled again. The remaining zombies were ignited from the flames. They groaned, unsuccessfully trying to smother the mass of flames that covered their gray flesh. The monsters fell to the ground as piles of ash. Smoke floated above the dirt, all that remained of the zombies. Genrou put his tessen into the scabbard on his back.  
  
"To tell ya the truth, I wasn't gonna come..." he confessed, "but I figured ya couldn't do this alone. Looks like I was right t' come n' check on you."  
  
"Genrou..." Nuriko mumbled questioningly.  
  
"We talked it over and made Kouji th' new boss. We figure our old boss would forgive us," Genrou informed them.  
  
"Why?" Nuriko inquired.  
  
Genrou walked over to where Christina and Katherine were sitting and knelt down in front of them. "You idiots. Haven't you figured it out yet?" he smirked. "Genrou's my nickname," he said, lifting up his right arm and tugging his sleeve down far enough to show the glowing red character 'wing' on his forearm. "I'm Tasuki. Sorry for trickin' you."  
  
"What...?" Nuriko asked, his jaw slack. He stood up angrily. "Why didn't you tell us that sooner, you moron?!"  
  
The two priestesses just glanced at each other and shrugged, knowing that this would happen. They silently, agreed that Nuriko was scolding the poor bandit enough for the time being.  
  
"Honestly!" Hotohori agreed. "After all the trouble we've been through!"  
  
"Didn't have a choice," Tasuki shrugged, "I had to be th' boss. Our old boss and all the guys wanted me to. Could I have ignored them? But then Kouji and all the guys told me t' get goin'," he explained. Nuriko scowled, still furious that Tasuki had waited so long to reveal his identity  
  
*  
  
The two priestesses and the three seishi rode their horses for about mile until they saw a village in the distance. Approaching the city, they noticed there was an unusual gothic aura coming from it. They crossed the city walls and noticed a few sparse white clouds in the gray sky and several black birds flying away from the deserted town, as if it was too gloomy for even them. The buildings were old and needed much repairing; the dirt roads were hard and cracked. It was still relatively early in the morning, and the seishi wondered if the people of the town had not awakened yet.  
  
"I never would have thought..." Hotohori muttered, disappointed in himself because he had allowed a city in his country go to such ruin in his country.  
  
Looking for some sign of life, Nuriko asked, "Does ANYONE live here?"  
  
"Hey, ya feelin' okay?" Tasuki randomly asked Katherine, noticing that she was becoming slightly pale.  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine...just tired," Katherine replied while yawning.  
  
"Maybe we should all get some rest," Hotohori advised, knowing that it had been a long night for everyone.  
  
Stretching her arms, Christina responded, "Sounds good to me."  
  
Right then they noticed a building that had an old wooden sign hanging off of it that was printed with large, black Chinese characters. "That's a coincidence," Nuriko mumbled when he looked up at the sign that proclaimed 'INN'. The band tied their horses to a nearby post.  
  
They walked into the deserted hotel and up to the counter and stood there for a couple seconds, waiting for someone to wait on them. "Um...excuse me," Katherine politely yelled towards the swinging doors, hoping that someone in the back room would hear her.  
  
A middle-aged man barged through the swinging doors and approached the counter. His black hair was greasy and his chin had a few whiskers on it. "May I help you?" he asked, forcing politeness into his voice.  
  
"Yes, may we have five rooms?" Nuriko answered with a sneer, irritable from the man's rudeness.  
  
Not believing that these newcomers had enough money, the man warned, "That's gonna cost ya."  
  
"Is there any way it could be cheaper?" Katherine asked, not wanting to spend all the money they brought in one day.  
  
"We have one large room with six beds," the owner suggested.  
  
Before any one else could answer, Katherine exclaimed, "We'll take it!"  
*  
  
They entered their room to find six beds, an old, rickety table complete with a set of aged chairs, and a lone window on the east side of the room. Faded sunlight streamed through the window, illuminating the dust that floated through the air. Christina looked down at the dust that had been brushed across the floor from merely opening the door. The group walked into the room, their footsteps quieted by the thick layer of filth on the floor.  
  
Before Katherine went to bed, she wanted to tell everyone about the disease, so then they would be on guard for any symptoms. The only problem was she didn't want them to ask how she knew about it. She stood there for a second, contemplating over how she could proceed with this plan. Finally, she decided she would pretend that it was common knowledge and only an idiot wouldn't know about it. "Hey you guys," she said groggily, "I've been hearing rumors that this place has this disease-ish type thing."  
  
Christina, picking up on what Katherine was saying, quickly agreed, "Yeah, I've been hearing the same thing. It starts with a fever, and then you go blind...You've most likely heard it too, since it's been talked about everywhere."  
  
"And then your legs go numb, and you can't walk," Katherine finished, "You've prolly heard this before, but we just wanna make sure."  
  
"Yeah, so make sure you take your Flintstones® Vitamins and everything," Christina warned as she placed her backpack in a corner of the room, along with everyone else's belongings. Even though the beds' dingy white sheets were less than inviting, everyone was thankful to be able to get some sleep.  
  
*  
  
Hotohori felt the sunlight stroke his face. As he slowly awoke, he started to feel the uncomfortable mattress beneath him. He closed his eyes harder, hoping to ignore the sun, begging for a few more minutes of sleep. He opened his eyes slightly as he raised his hand to block out the sun, rising through the window. "Damn sun," he heard Christina mumble. He looked over at the bed next to him to see her flip over, burying her face into her pillow. "We should get up. It's probably around eleven," Hotohori stated. It was evident to both of them that the sun was high and bright.  
  
Christina let out a long sigh and mumbled some words that were inaudible to the emperor. Hotohori sat up in the bed and looked across the room to see the small table with two chairs and beyond it, Tasuki, Nuriko, and Katherine still sound asleep, out of the reach of the sun. He stood up and walked across the room to wake up Katherine. Behind him he heard Christina finally stand up and yawn. Hotohori quietly approached the bed and knelt down by the side of it. He gazed into the resting priestess's face for a moment, noticing that she was slightly pale from lack of sleep. He brushed a strand of hair out of her face, starting to rethink waking her up.  
  
"C'mon lover boy," Christina urged, watching him stare tenderly at her friend's face. She walked over to Tasuki's bed, grumbling to herself about how difficult it will be to wake him up.  
  
"Katherine," the emperor whispered softly. "It's time to wake up." The priestess grumbled and rolled over. Hotohori gently placed his hand on her shoulder and slightly nudged her, not wanting to disturb her too much.  
  
Katherine let out a moan of protest before saying, "Okay...I'm awake." She flopped back over on the other side and opened her eyes. "Hey," she whispered to the shadow that was in front of her, assuming it was Hotohori.  
  
"Hi," Hotohori whispered back, standing up and holding out his hand for her to grab. He saw Katherine's eyes trying to focus and assumed that the bright sun caused her momentary blindness. She felt her way around and walked towards the center of the small room. Hotohori walked over to Nuriko, who was still peacefully resting in his bed.  
  
Katherine desperately tried to make out what was in front of her. She heard Christina yelling at Tasuki to wake up behind her, and slightly laughed at how similar the two were. All of the sudden she found herself sprawled on the hard floor.  
  
"Katherine, what happened?" Hotohori worriedly asked, hearing the 'thud' behind him.  
  
"Princess Grace tripped over a chair," Christina sarcastically replied.  
  
"Ow..." Katherine mumbled as she rubbed her head. "Man! How long did we sleep?! It's like pitch black in here!"  
  
Hotohori and Christina's eyes widened as they turned their head to each other to see if the other one came to the same conclusion. They both looked back at the ill priestess, who was desperately rubbing her eyes. "You've gotta be shitting me," Christina stated.  
  
"What did you say?" Nuriko scolded, still in his bed, as he groggily turned to on his side. He was tired of hearing Christina swear so much.  
  
"What did you think I said? 'Cuz whatever you think, I probably said it," Christina sarcastically replied.  
  
"Shut up," Nuriko said as he flipped over and buried his head in his pillow.  
  
Hotohori walked over to Katherine and helped her up. She brushed the front of her pants, hoping they hadn't gotten too dirty from the grubby floor. She felt Hotohori's warm hand against her forehead. "What are you doing?" she asked curiously, looking up at him.  
  
"You have a slight fever," Hotohori mumbled as he removed his hand from her forehead.  
  
Katherine then felt a second shadow punch her right arm. She took a step back to catch her balance. "You idiot! How could you get sick? Start taking your freakin' vitamin C!!!" Christina scolded.  
  
"Hey! It's kinda hard to get enough vitamin C. This isn't exactly the land of oranges! And, anyways, I didn't mean to get sick!" Katherine shouted back, defending herself.  
  
"Well, it's a huge inconvenience that you did!" Christina shouted back.  
  
"Hey! At least I didn't get kidnapped...again! How many times have you gotten kidnapped? Four?" Katherine replied. She then came to the realization that her friend was slightly like Princess Peach from Mario Brothers. "You're a damsel! You're a damsel! You're a da- Ow!" she chanted as she danced around in circles but suddenly came to a half by accidentally running into Tasuki's bed, causing her to fall on top of the sleeping sei.  
  
"What the fuck?!" Tasuki groggily replied, waking up from the extra hundred pounds suddenly falling on his legs. "What the hell are you doing here?!" he asked, shocked to find the priestess lying across his legs.  
  
"Sorry, my bad," Katherine apologized, standing back up. Christina buried her face in her hand, not believing her friend's stupidity.  
  
*  
  
Katherine and Christina were sitting on Katherine's bed while everyone else was downstairs eating breakfast. Katherine was at the head of the bed lying down with her head resting on her pillow while Christina was sitting Indian- style at the bottom. "So can you see anything?" Christina asked curiously.  
  
"Only shadows," Katherine responded simply, shrugging her shoulders.  
  
"So what are you gonna do about you and Mitsukake?" Christina asked, changing the subject, fidgeting with her hands.  
  
Katherine let out an exasperated sigh, not believing it took her friend so long to acquire some responsibility. "We wouldn't have to have the conversation if we had talked about Mits back at the bandit's place while I was healthy," she replied with a sneer, putting special emphasis on the word 'healthy'.  
  
"Well, sor-ry! How the hell was I supposed to tell that you were gonna get sick?!" Christina said, not knowing what had made Katherine so cynical. Katherine responded with a simple roll of her eyes. She didn't feel like responding to Christina's pointless comments today, since she was feeling worse by the hour. "Anyways, what about Shoka and stuff?" Christina continued, not knowing what to do next.  
  
"Well, we need to at least meet Shoka before we find Mits," Katherine reasoned, knowing that the storyline could fall into chaos if they tried to alter it too much at this point.  
  
"Sounds good to me," Christina agreed, standing up from the bed. "I'm getting hungry. I'm gonna go down for some chow," she continued while holding her stomach.  
  
There was suddenly a soft knock at the door. "Come in!" Katherine called. The door slowly opened to reveal Hotohori carrying a small tray with a plate of food.  
  
"Hello. How are you feeling?" Hotohori asked tenderly, walking up to her bed and placing the food on a small nightstand.  
  
"Oh, by the way, that was Hotohori that just entered," Christina explained to her friend, suddenly remembering that she was blind. "He's carrying a tray of food, and he's prolly gonna feed it to you. I'm now gonna leave you two alone...I'm walking towards the door," she said condescendingly. Katherine held her face in her hand, not believing her friend was treating her like a child. "I'm now opening the door...I'm now leaving..." she continued as she stepped out into the hallway.  
  
"I may be blind, but I'm not a moron!!!" Katherine shouted just before Christina closed the door.  
  
"Well, fine then! I hate you!" Christina yelled, slamming the door.  
  
"I hate you too!" Katherine hollered at the closed door.  
  
"Is everything okay between you and Christina?" Hotohori asked while pulling up a chair by Katherine's bed, concerned about their friendship.  
  
"Yeah, don't worry about we say that to each other all the time. It's kinda like a joke between us," Katherine explained, sitting up and resting her back on the headboard.  
  
Suddenly the door opened again and Christina poked her head in. "I'm leaving you for good!"  
  
"Good! I don't need you!" Katherine shouted back just before the door closed once again.  
  
Then the door opened once again. "You don't know what you're missing!" Christina yelled as fake tears formed in her eyes.  
  
"I know it ain't good!" Katherine screamed.  
  
Christina took a deep shivering breath and bit her bottom lip, as if she was about to cry. "You're right it's not good...it's GREAT!" she hollered back and slammed the door once again.  
  
Katherine rolled her eyes, realizing she would have to be the one to end the pretend fight, since her friend wasn't going to shut up. She looked over at Hotohori's shadow. "Anyways..." she said cheerfully, knowing that her conversation with Christina might have disturbed him.  
  
Hotohori glanced over at Katherine, then at the door, wondering what just happened. He decided to turn his focus back to the tray of food he brought up. "I thought you may be hungry, so I brought up a tray of food for you," he explained as he put the tray of food on her lap. He watched her eyes trying to focus on what was on the tray and bit his bottom lip, not knowing how to help.  
  
After a few seconds Katherine looked away, ashamed of herself. She knew that the meal most likely involved chopsticks, which she couldn't even use when she wasn't blind. "Um...I'm not very hungry," she mumbled, pushing the tray away from her.  
  
Hotohori knew Katherine wouldn't like someone feeding her, being the independent person she was, but she had to eat anyways. He took the chopsticks in his right hand and picked up a couple of the noodles up. "Do you mind?" he politely asked.  
  
"O...kay..." she answered nervously. She opened her mouth and tasted the noodles on her tongue. As the wooden chopsticks slipped from her lips, she let out a soft chuckle. She covered her mouth as she continued to laugh. "Sorry, this is just kinda weird..." she explained.  
  
"I guess you have a point," Hotohori agreed, slightly laughing.  
  
"Here, I have a better idea," Katherine said. She delicately picked up a couple noodles with her fingers and tilted her head back as she dropped them in her mouth. She wished she could see Hotohori's reaction to her discourteous way of eating. She could only imagine his golden eyes widening in shock, but, instead, she heard him softly laughing. "Why don't you join me?" she asked.  
  
His laughter quickly came to a halt. "Okay..." he answered uneasily. He looked at the plate of food for a second, as if he was about to commit a crime.  
  
"C'mon, no one's watching," she encouraged. She watched the shadow of his hand move slowly towards the plate and pick up a noodle. She anxiously bit her lip, knowing that if he did this it would be defying all the chivalrous rules he had learned since he was a child; yet, at the same time, it would show that he was more than just an emperor.  
  
He dropped the noodle in his mouth as a smile grew on Katherine's face.  
  
*  
  
Nuriko was walking down the hallway, approaching his room. He was sent upstairs to tell Hotohori and Katherine that they were going to find the person who could supposedly bring the people back to life, hoping that he could cure Katherine too. He pushed the plain wooden door open. His thoughts suddenly came to a standstill when he found the emperor eating noodles with his fingers. Katherine and Hotohori both, obviously, had not noticed him, since they continued to eat like barbarians. Nuriko leaned on the door frame, watching them for a second or two more and then decided he'd seen enough of their rude behavior. "What are you two doing!?" Nuriko asked incredulously.  
  
Katherine and Hotohori immediately stopped eating and turned to look at Nuriko with guilty looks on their faces. Hotohori swallowed the piece of food he was chewing and stood up. "Nuriko," he greeted with a simple bow of the head, trying to use excessive courtesy to make up for what the sei had just seen.  
  
"I just wanted to tell you two that we will be setting out to find that person we heard about, maybe he could do something for Katherine. We will meet you downstairs when you are ready to leave," Nuriko explained. He turned around and walked out the door.  
  
"Are you going to be okay while we find the doctor?" Hotohori asked Katherine while removing the tray of food from her lap.  
  
"I hope you don't mean that I'm not going with you?" Katherine answered as she swung her legs to the side of the bed.  
  
"Katherine..." he advised in an authoritative voice, knowing that she should get her rest.  
  
"Aww...c'mon, I'll be just fine," she replied as she stood up and stretched. Hotohori knew that once Katherine made up her mind about something, it would be extremely difficult to get her to change it, so he gave in.  
  
*  
  
"Okay, those two are coming home right now!" Joan decided. She didn't want Katherine or Christina in Konan any longer. Joan knew Katherine had now truly fallen in love with Hotohori, that it wasn't just a fangirl crush anymore, but she knew that they needed to come home. It would be for the best. Whether the Suzaku Seven were cartoons in an anime or characters in a book, they were still two-dimensional, and not real. "I know Katherine and I fight a lot, but she's still my sister!" she yelled, almost as if trying to explain everything to Diana.  
  
Joan knew that it would rip Katherine and Christina apart, being torn from the fantasy world they so longed for, but she knew that the longer they stayed, the harder it would be to leave. Joan wanted Katherine out of Konan as soon as possible, and she knew Diana was thinking along the same lines.  
  
"I understand what you mean," Diana agreed, trying to calm Joan down, "but this is something she won't give up. We know - she knows - it's insanely dangerous, but you know as well as I do that that doesn't matter to her anymore. She's got to see this through, now."  
  
"She'd never choose to leave Hotohori," Joan reasoned. She stood up and jammed her right hand into the pocket of her jeans, looking for her connection to Christina and Katherine. Once she had fished the money out of her pocket, she sat back down and held it in front of her face.  
  
"Katherine?" she called into the green paper. "Christina?"  
  
*  
  
The two priestesses and three seishi walked out of the lifeless forest and into the deserted city. Hotohori took Katherine's hand to help guide her throughout the city. "Doesn't anyone live here?" Tasuki sarcastically asked as they looked around for some sign of human life. They walked down one of the dirt roads and saw three black crows fly off into the distance.  
  
"This is just like a slasher movie," Christina commented, looking around the city, half- expecting to find an axe-murderer jumping out of some random corner. Behind them a wooden cart pulled by a couple peasants turned a sharp corner, causing Christina to quickly turn her head to see what was making such a loud noise.  
  
"Get out of the way!" one of the peasants yelled, racing past the stunned seishi. The group saw a young man on top of the cart, motionless and pale.  
  
"We need to follow that cart!" Christina shouted, and began chasing it, knowing that it would lead them to Shoka. The seishi looked at each other for a second or two, wondering why they needed to pursue a pushcart.  
  
"Come on you guys!" Katherine shouted as she started to run, following Christina's shadow.  
  
"Katherine! You shouldn't be running!" Hotohori called, sprinting after her. Nuriko and Tasuki had no choice but to follow as they jogged down the street.  
  
Christina finally reached the cart's destination, a run-down building, and approached it cautiously. She cautiously walked inside to find the dead man they had seen on the cart now in a bed. Hovering over him was a woman, who looked like she was in her late teens. She had long, dirty-blonde hair and was wearing a blue dress and a pink shawl. She heard Katherine, who was gasping for air, stop behind her, soon followed by Hotohori.  
  
"Are you okay?" Hotohori tenderly asked Katherine, rubbing her back, hoping it would give her some relief. She nodded her head in response as she caught her breath. Christina and the couple took a couple steps inside, followed by Nuriko and Tasuki.  
  
Christina pulled Katherine over to the side, murmuring so no one else would hear. "I think we found Shoka," she whispered as she pointed to the woman in the blue dress.  
  
Katherine's eyes focused on the long shadow of her friend's arm. She followed it to the large silhouette that she assumed to be a woman's. "Okay," she quietly confirmed.  
  
Tasuki watched in awe as the young woman bent down and kissed the dead man on the lips. As she backed away, Tasuki saw the once dead man move slightly and open his eyes. "What the hell?" he muttered in disbelief.  
  
"What could have..." Hotohori mumbled watching the same spectacle as Tasuki. He looked over at one of the people who had been pulling the cart in question.  
  
"It's been terrible this past month. A mysterious plague has spread throughout the community," an elderly man with a white beard started to explain. "It starts with a fever, then partial paralysis, and some even go blind. Some say it's a curse brought on by a demon, so medicine is useless against it. Our Miss Shoka cannot cure it either, but she can revive the dead and fully restore them to health. It would be better to die and be revived, than to writhe in pain from the disease."  
  
"So there is nothing we can do about Katherine..." Nuriko mumbled under his breath.  
  
"Isn't there any other doctor in this town?" Hotohori desperately asked the elderly man.  
  
"I am terribly sorry, but all the doctors left awhile ago. All of those who remain here would leave, but we do not have enough money. However, there is a hermit that lives outside of the city borders; some believe that he may have some experience in medicine."  
  
The three seishi and the two priestesses walked outside to discuss their current situation. "I think we should go find this hermit," Katherine said, knowing that the hermit was Mitsukake, the sixth constellation of Suzaku.  
  
"Works for me," Christina replied while shrugging.  
  
"Then it is settled," Hotohori agreed, taking Katherine's hand, guiding her down the street.  
  
"Don't we get a say in anything?" Tasuki whispered to Nuriko as they trailed behind the three leaders.  
  
"Do you have any better ideas?" Nuriko sarcastically replied, turning to the bandit.  
  
"Well...no...but-" he started, but was cut off by Nuriko.  
  
"Then don't complain," Nuriko advised. Tasuki just looked at the sei for a second, dumbfounded, and then looked down at his feet, grumbling to himself.  
  
Katherine was leaning on Hotohori's arm, contemplating their options concerning Mitsukake. She suddenly felt a numbing pain in her legs, and abruptly stopped walking. Hotohori turned to her and gently grasped her shoulders. She looked down, becoming slightly dizzy "Katherine, can you hear me?!" Hotohori worriedly asked, seeing the dazed look on her face.  
  
"Katherine, what's wrong?" Christina wondered, turning to her friend. Katherine just stood silent for a moment before collapsing into Hotohori's arms.  
  
To Be Continued...  
  
AN2: YES!!! THE DAY HAS COME!!! *super happy* We put up images! Just go to our site and go to the link of our fanfic and you should see a link to "pictures". If you do all of that properly and geocities isn't evil, then you can see pictures of Christina and Katherine. Or you could just type in www.geocities.com then just put in /daydreamsembracepics/main.html Go us! Go us! *dancing around*  
  
~Nyan Nyan and Mrs. Tasuki~ 


	18. Episode 17: Awakening Memories

AN: We'd like to dedicate this episode to Bonnie E., for her great comments. Sure, we got off to a rough start with each other, and some of her comments were hard for us to swallow, but she has been the voice in our heads that constantly reminded us to work harder. We would also like to mention Yumiko Kaze. She recently started reading our story but has also helped us greatly with our Mary-Sueism. Without Bonnie E. or Yumiko Kaze, we probably wouldn't have worked so hard at characterization and details.  
  
Thanks Bonnie E and Yumiko Kaze  
  
~*~ = flash back  
  
Episode 17:  
  
Awakening Memories  
  
By: Nyan Nyan and Mrs. Tasuki  
  
Tamahome walked into Miaka's room wearing a small black tunic over a pair of white pants and long sleeve top. Miaka dropped her mouth in awe at how nice he looked in his new attire. "Does this look okay?" Tamahome asked uneasily, looking down at the clothing. Her admiration was beyond words, and she just nodded.  
  
"If you'll excuse me, your eminence," Nakago interrupted. Miaka and Tamahome quickly turned around, startled at his presence. "I thought you might be interesting in hearing an amusing story. One of the Priestesses of Suzaku has gone blind," he said with a smirk.  
  
"Blind?!" Tamahome said in shock, his eyes growing wide with concern.  
  
Showing no emotion on his face, Nakago continued, "It seems that her sight has been damaged by the plague. It is incurable and leaves its victims to die a slow, painful death."  
  
"That's horrible!" Miaka exclaimed while clasping her hands over her mouth.  
  
"Don't you see, Lady Miaka," Nakago started, lightly grasping her arm. "If one of the priestesses dies, then Konan cannot summon Suzaku. This tragedy will work in our benefit."  
  
"Nakago, how can you say such terrible things?!" Miaka shouted as she pulled away from his grasp, not believing how cruel he was acting.  
  
Getting down on one knee with his hand over his heart, Nakago apologized in a regretful tone. "I'm terribly sorry, Lady Miaka. My own ambition caused me to not see the suffering of other people. Thank you for reminding me."  
  
Desperately wanting the details, Tamahome asked anxiously, "Do you know which priestess it is?"  
  
"I did not acquire that much information," Nakago answered, getting up and walking out of Miaka's room.  
  
*  
  
Shoka was in her small house, sweeping the dirty floor with an old broom, trying to make it look at least slightly clean. The wooden door suddenly flung open to reveal several newcomers. A young man in a long red tunic walked in carrying a girl wearing strange foreign clothing. "Please help her," the man pleaded as the foreign girl gasped for air. Shoka looked around the man to find a purple-haired woman, another man with orange hair, and a second strangely-dressed girl.  
  
"We believe she caught the shikkonki," Nuriko stated.  
  
"Please lay her down over there," Shoka replied, pointing to the single bed in the room.  
  
"This must be torture, living like that," Nuriko stated as Hotohori laid the priestess down on the bed.  
  
"Katherine, you better not die on me!" Christina shouted at Katherine. She was always at a lost for words when something serious happened to her.  
  
"Wow...you're so nice," Katherine joked in a weak voice, looking at her friend. Hotohori silently kneeled by Katherine, covering her with a white sheet.  
  
"Can't you do anything?" Nuriko begged, turning to Shoka.  
  
"We only have one choice," Shoka solemnly started. "We must kill her." Everyone quickly looked at her, hoping they misheard what she had just said. "I can use my power to revive her. She will be perfectly healthy afterwards," she explained.  
  
"Do you really expect us to do that?!" Tasuki yelled in disbelief. Slamming his fist into his hand, he continued, "Dammit! There ain't nothin we can do?!"  
  
"Nope, not gonna happen," Christina countered while crossing her arms. She knew the reason why killing Katherine would not end well. Shoka's way of reviving people was a bit overrated in her mind.  
  
In between her gasps for air, Katherine asked, "Can you guys...try to find that...hermit guy?"  
  
"Yeah, we could go get him!" Christina shouted excitedly. "But one of us should stay here with Katherine," she reasoned, not completely trusting Shoka.  
  
"I will," Hotohori volunteered.  
  
"So, does that sound good to you two?" Christina asked, turning to Nuriko and Tasuki.  
  
Looking at each other, they replied in unison, "Sure..."  
  
"Great! See ya later!" she shouted as she walked out of Shoka's house, followed by Nuriko and Tasuki.  
  
"Katherine, is there anything I can get you?" Hotohori asked, turning to hold her hand.  
  
"No, I'm fi-" she started but was cut short by a sudden fit of coughs. She sat up in the bed, covering her mouth. Hotohori sat behind her on the side of the small bed and started to rub her back. He hated to see her in this condition. She finally began to relax and leaned into him. He rested his back on the headboard of the bed and lifted his legs onto the bed next to hers. She nestled her head on his chest, listening to his heart-beat, as he gently brushed some of her hair out of her face.  
  
*  
  
Christina made a quick stop by their room before setting off to find the hermit. "Katherine?" a muffled voice called from a corner of the room. Christina looked around for where the voice, which she quickly recognized at Joan's, was emanating from. She moved the piles of bags and luggage that belonged to the group. "Christina?" Joan called. Christina picked up Katherine's little black bag and searched through it for the dollar bill.  
  
"Keep talking," Christina yelled into the bag. "I'm trying to find the cash."  
  
"Will you hurry up already?!" Joan anxiously shouted. Christina finally fished the dollar bill of the bottom of the backpack and held it above her head. Her smile grew with delight as she looked up at the connection. She walked over to the other side of the room and flopped down on the bed.  
  
"Hey there Joan," she said happily, almost as if she was talking on a telephone. "What's up?"  
  
"Lemme talk to Katherine," Joan ordered quickly, completely ignoring Christina.  
  
"Ummm...she's sleeping..." Christina answered, too quickly for it to sound calm.  
  
"Are you telling me she caught the plague?!" Joan asked angrily. All she had read was that the Lady Katherine was not feeling well, but she knew by Christina's tense voice that Katherine was in trouble, and her memory of the original Fushigi Yuugi plot only increased her distress. "I KNEW this would happen!" she yelled heatedly. "You are both coming home RIGHT NOW!"  
  
"EXCUSE me?" Christina asked, not believing what she just heard.  
  
"You heard me! This is too dangerous for both of you! I want you back here now!"  
  
Nuriko and Tasuki were walking up to the room wondering what was taking Christina so long, when they heard her yelling from within. Knowing that no one else was in the room with Christina they nervously glanced at each other as they opened the door and walked into the room.  
  
"And just HOW am I supposed to go home!?" Christina yelled, unaware of Tasuki's and Nuriko's presence, "And WHY would I want to go home?!"  
  
Tasuki and Nuriko stared at each other, thoroughly unnerved out by her obvious insanity. "Are you feeling okay?" Nuriko asked her. Christina waved her hand dismissively at him, as though he was interrupting a conversation.  
  
"Oh, I have ways of making you come home," Joan said threateningly.  
  
Hearing a strange female voice from the sky, Tasuki yelled, "What the hell was that?!" He saw a strange piece of green paper floating above Christina's head.  
  
"Okay, where are you, Kutou agent?!" Nuriko shouted at the ceiling as he raised his fists, remembering the time an assassin was hidden on the ceiling in Tamahome's room.  
  
"Can you two please be quiet?" Christina asked Nuriko and Tasuki impatiently, "I'm talking to Joan." She turned back to the bill and glared at it. "And what 'ways' are those?" she asked ominously, putting her hands on her hips.  
  
Knowing he had heard the name somewhere before, Nuriko asked, "Isn't Joan Katherine's sister?"  
  
"Yes," Christina simply answered. Nuriko was still confused, since talking to paper clearly had nothing to do with Katherine's sister.  
  
"If you two don't come home, I will single-handedly ensure that Hotohori's kingdom is utterly devastated," Joan stated.  
  
"And what do you mean by 'devastated'?" Christina asked, "It's not like you can burn the b-" she said, but cut her statement short before she said 'book'. She wasn't exactly in the mood to explain to Nuriko and Tasuki that the book in question was a portal to Konan. "It's not like you can burn The Universe of the Four Gods."  
  
"It's true that it can't be burned," Joan agreed. "But the cover can be beaten."  
  
"You mean..."  
  
"The pages can be torn. The binding-"  
  
"Don't TOUCH that binding!" Christina heard Diana's voice scream angrily. Diana was very touchy about the binding on any books, especially her manga.  
  
"Hi, Diana!" Christina greeted happily. Meanwhile, Nuriko and Tasuki stood watching, dumbfounded and confused at what was happening.  
  
Cutting Christina short again, Joan yelled, "As I was saying! The BINDING could be broken! And you know that Konan 'reflects' the condition of the book."  
  
"But that would mean that..." Christina retorted in disbelief. "You wouldn't really destroy it, would you?"  
  
"I can't destroy it." Joan said, "But I CAN wreak a lot of havoc." Truthfully, Joan didn't want to resort to anything of the sort. But, if she had to choose between threatening Konan and leaving Christina and Katherine in life-threatening danger, the choice was simple.  
  
"You know if you did anything like that, Katherine and I could get caught up in the cross-fire," Christina pointed out, barely speaking above a whisper. "I mean if you screw around with that, and there's all this chaos and destruction...Katherine and I could get killed." Nuriko and Tasuki looked worriedly at each other, not sure what Christina meant at all. "Joan," she sighed, "I have this feeling that neither of us can escape The Universe of the Four Gods until we finish it. I don't think we have a choice anymore. It's been out of our hands for a while now, and none of us can do anything about it, so all we can do is ride it out."  
  
"Christina..." Diana began, "You have to come home. And you have to bring Nuriko with you!" Before Christina had time to react, the dollar bill emitted a loud smack, accompanied by Joan's holler.  
  
"Baka! How can you think of something like-" Joan screamed at her friend before being interrupted once again.  
  
"Seriously, though," Diana continued tenderly, "Christina can't you please come home? It's too dangerous. Katherine's sick, and you know as well as I do that it gets even worse from there."  
  
Nuriko stared at the green paper and raised one eyebrow. "Who is that?" he whispered to Tasuki, noticing the plaintive voice didn't sound like Katherine's sister.  
  
"How the hell should I know?" Tasuki shouted. "Whoever it is, she has an awful taste in men," he continued, curling up his lip. He was promptly answered with a strong punch into the wall.  
  
"Diana, I'm not coming home. Sometimes I do just wish I could, just because that would be the easy way out. But there are people here who depend on us. And that's more important than anything else now."  
  
"You are coming home now!" Joan bellowed in a last, desperate effort to bring them back.  
  
"Joan, I'm not leaving. Not now. That's the end of it. I know what you mean, but if you don't stop this, I'll burn the connection. I'm serious." Christina's tone was such that neither Joan nor Diana doubted her one bit.  
  
"Christina..." Joan pleaded. But Christina ignored her, folding the dollar and carefully placing the dollar back into the bottom of Katherine's knapsack.  
  
Christina said, "I'm not leaving." She turned back around and faced Nuriko and Tasuki, then walked past them, out of the room, still not speaking. Tasuki and Nuriko followed her out of the chamber, sure she would not say another word about the inter-dimensional conversation she had just had.  
  
*  
  
Nuriko, Christina, and Tasuki finally set out to find Myojuan's house. Christina immediately took over as the leader. They walked around the outskirts of town, Tasuki and Nuriko looking for shacks in the forest, while Christina was looking for a fisherman selling his wares. "Fish!" a voice called down the dirty, narrow lane. Christina turned around to see where the voice had come from. "Fish!" he called again. A man ran down the street, carrying two buckets of fish on a pole that was resting over his shoulders. "Buy some fresh fish today!" The man completely contrasted his surroundings. He was energetic in a town where all of the inhabitants seemed to have had the vigor sucked out of them. The lively man rounded the corner, still advertising his goods. He accidentally dropped a small fish as he turned down the second street and kept running.  
  
Christina looked around the shadowy corners, waiting for someone to jump out and take the fish. She was rewarded by a tall man, wearing discolored tan pants and a brown shirt, who grabbed the fish and then ran out of the city's gates, towards the forest. "Who wants to bet against me that that guy's Myojuan?" Christina whispered to her friends.  
  
The trio hurried to where the hermit had disappeared, and followed a small, well-worn path into the trees. At the end of the trail was a tiny, run-down hovel.  
  
"That must be it!" Christina said excitedly.  
  
The group walked over and peered in through one of the open windows. "So many medicines..." Nuriko said in complete awe of the jars that were littered around the floor. The man from before was sitting in the middle of the floorboards, surrounded by the jars of medication. "Do you think this could be the Myojuan person we heard about?" Nuriko whispered to Christina.  
  
"I'd bet my life on it," she replied.  
  
"Hey, Mister!" Tasuki yelled, flinging the old door open. "Are you Myojuan?" A small white cat sat, happily munching on the fish on the left side of the room. The man turned around, wondering who had intruded into his home. He had long scraggly hair, and an untidy beard and mustache. Even though his appearance was much less than refined, he had kind eyes, but they were nearly wholly hidden behind a mat of hair. He turned his back on the group in an uncaring manner. "If ya are, could ya take a look at our friend? She's back in the city."  
  
"She's very weak from the plague and couldn't even walk up here to see you," Nuriko explained.  
  
Still not facing them, Myojuan quietly mumbled, "I gave up being a doctor long ago. Now leave."  
  
"What?" Nuriko asked, not believing his ears. "But you examine animals, don't you?"  
  
Myojuan turned around, quickly and glared at the intruders. "I don't give a damn about people! Now leave!" he bellowed furiously.  
  
"Sure, sure. Whatever pal. Man, ask a guy a favor!" Tasuki complained as they left the house. Christina stopped in her tracks. She was not going to relent on this one. She was going to go him a piece of her mind. She turned back around and marched into the shack. Tasuki and Nuriko looked around when they realized that Christina had left. They spotted her angrily stomping towards Myojuan's house and had no choice but to follow in her wake.  
  
*  
  
"Don't worry you guys, I'm coming," Tamahome thought as he ran down the palace hallway. He had to get back to Christina and Katherine, before something horrible happened to one of them. Even though his reaction would be the same, regardless of which one had caught the plague, he hated not knowing.  
  
"Tamahome..." Miaka started uneasily, coming out of a dark hallway. "Are you going back to the other priestesses?"  
  
Hoping that Miaka would permit him to leave, Tamahome pleaded, "I'm sorry, but I have to go to see if I can help. Please, let me go."  
  
"That's okay," she started, looking down at the floor. "You don't have to explain. I understand," she replied, glancing up at him with a fake smile, even though tears were forming in her eyes.  
  
Tamahome walked up to her and looked into her green eyes. "Don't worry, I'll come back," he muttered as his lips moved closer to her mouth. Miaka closed her eyes and felt the warmth of his lips upon hers. He wrapped his arms around her waist as she draped her arms on his shoulders. "I love you," he whispered in her ear as he slowly pulled away and wiped away one of her tears from her cheek. He turned around and continued to run. He turned around and continued to run. She watched him leave valiantly, but suddenly she saw a flash of blond hair.  
  
Tamahome felt something wrap around his ankle causing him to fall down. Looking behind him, he saw a thick leather whip around his leg. "I anticipated this..." Nakago, the holder of the whip, greeted him with a sly smile.  
  
Running up to the general, Miaka yelled, "Nakago, what are you doing?!"  
  
"Lady Miaka, this man is a hostage and he must be punished for disobeying orders," Nakago explained with a cold tone. "Take him to the dungeon!" he commanded several guards who were nearby.  
  
*  
  
Hotohori looked down at his priestess, who was now sleeping peacefully against his chest. He remembered when he was a little child and how he dreamt of the Priestess of Suzaku, but the girl he had imagined was different than Katherine. He thought she would be sophisticated, much like his courtiers, yet Katherine didn't care what people thought about her. She was always cheerful and optimistic, with a happy-go-lucky smile on her face, yet she knew when to be serious. She showed him how to be himself, not the emperor of Konan. Katherine was nothing like his image of the ideal priestess when he was young; she was better.  
  
Hotohori's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by soft mumbling. He rapidly woke up from his daydream to find Katherine gasping for air. She muttered something under her breath between her gasps of air, but no matter how hard Hotohori tried, he couldn't understand what she was saying. He placed his hand on top of her forehead and found that it was definitely feverish. He quickly moved out from under her, so he could look at her face. His hair draped down unto her face as he hovered over her. He saw her eyes were tightly shut and sweat was forming on her forehead. "Katherine! Please wake up," he desperately whispered into her ear as he gently grabbed her shoulders, but her eyes remained shut. He was about to turn around to find Shoka, but she had just entered the room to see what was causing so much commotion.  
  
Shoka composedly approached the bed, having seen this many times. She placed her hand on the priestess's forehead and left it there for a moment until she came to her conclusion. "I'm terribly sorry," she started remorsefully, "but it appears that she is slightly delirious. The only thing we can do is wait," she continued with her eyes focusing on the wooden flooring.  
  
"Wait for what?" Hotohori replied anxiously, his eyes filled with worry, hoping she meant to wait for her to wake up, but he knew by her silence that chances were Katherine wouldn't open her eyes again.  
  
*  
  
Christina angrily flung the door open. She burst back into the small one- room shelter. Myojuan turned around to see who had stomped into his house.  
  
"Oh. You again," Myojuan said exasperatedly, not believing she had the nerve intrude once again.  
  
"I will do ANYTHING to help Katherine! But I WILL NOT do it Miss Shoka's way!" Christina yelled angrily, placing both of her hands on her hips. Nuriko and Tasuki stared at her, taken aback at how frightening she was when she was angry. She looked as though her gaze alone could burn the house down. She impatiently waited for Myojuan to turn back around in surprise. Myojuan shakily turned around, not believing what she had just yelled.  
  
"Did you just say...Shoka?"  
  
"Yeah..." Nuriko answered, wondering why Miss Shoka had anything to do with this. "Katherine and Hotohori are with her now..."  
  
"That...that's impossible!" Myojuan shouted in disbelief. "Shoka's dead! She died a year ago!"  
  
~*~ Katherine sat down in her black computer chair. She let out a long sigh while untucking the white blouse from her uniform skirt. Her mother forced her to go to an all-girl, Catholic, college-preparatory school. This was her third year there, yet she felt like she was still a visitor. She never acted like herself, instead behaving quiet, shy, and withdrawn.  
  
"So this is what loneliness feels like...huh, Hotohori?" she thought, looking at her Hotohori wallpaper as she clicked on the blue AOL icon. She signed on-line under her usual screen name and watched her buddy list and the welcome box appear. Suddenly, in front of it all, she saw two unfamiliar boxes emerge. She read the one that was in the center of the screen first. It told her that she had an hour to spend on the internet and that after that time it would sign her off. Katherine let out an agitated sigh as she began to read the second box.. The top of the small purple box was labeled 'AOL Guardian'. "This can't be good..." Katherine muttered as she continued reading. 'Your parent or guardian will receive an email about your online session,' it read in small black font. Katherine became enraged; she pushed her chair back with all her might, causing it to tip over.  
  
She ran to the family room and found her mom on the couch petting their dog and her father on the blue chair watching Seinfield. "What the hell is going on?!" she screamed, not believing that they were doing this.  
  
"Don't use that word," her mother scolded, referring to 'hell'.  
  
"'Hell' isn't a swear word," Katherine explained, rolling her eyes at how naïve her mother was.  
  
Upset at the lack of respect Katherine was showing, her mother replied, "Well, in this household it is."  
  
"Fine! But why are there time limitations and a stupid guardian thing on the internet?" Katherine asked through her teeth. She hadn't anything to make her lose her parent's trust, she was sure of that.  
  
"You spend much too much time on the internet talking to your friends and not enough time on your schoolwork," her mother rationally explained.  
  
Her father put the T.V. on mute and entered the conversation. "If you want to get a scholarship at an out-of-state college, you are going to have to get a 3.5 GPA or above."  
  
"Last quarter I got a 3.429!" Katherine hollered, not wanting to hear her father's college speech once again.  
  
"We both know you are capable of more than that," her mother calmly replied.  
  
"And the 'A's' you did get were in the less important courses, such as religion and art. Colleges don't look at those classes as much; they look more at the Math and Science courses," her father continued.  
  
"I did get an 'A' in Science!" Katherine screamed back. She knew that yelling at them would only get her into more trouble, but she couldn't stop herself.  
  
"And what did you get in math?" was her father's only reply, knowing that his daughter did not do as well in math.  
  
"A 'B'..." she muttered. "But I'm in Probability and Statistics and I'm the only freshman in the whole school that is taking that class!"  
  
"Would you stop screaming at us?! Don't you see you have lost complete structure in your life?!" her mother yelled. "You have no respect for us anymore, you've started swearing, and your grades are slipping"  
  
Katherine took a couple of deep breaths. She felt like she was going to explode; her body couldn't take it anymore. She rubbed her face with her hands and tried to massage her temples. "First of all," she started with her voice extremely low, "I know I was yelling, and I know that that is wrong. But I believe that right now I have the right to yell considering it's the only way for you guys to listen to me. Second of all, 'hell' once again is NOT a swear word. Thirdly, how can you expect me to keep my grades up when I'm stuck in a never-ending hellhole," she suddenly paused, realizing she had 'sworn' once again. She glanced over to find her mother glaring at her. "HECKhole for a school," she corrected mockingly.  
  
"That is no excuse for your behavior lately," her mother responded. She was going to say more but she was interrupted by their dog barking at the patio door. Her mother pointed to the door, "Could you?" she politely asked, oblivious to how angry Katherine truly was.  
  
Katherine let out an agitated sigh; she hated being interrupted. She walked over to the sliding glass door and opened it, letting her dog out. When she turned around she realized that she was going nowhere with her parents. Her father turned the sound back on the T.V. and both of them were intently watching it. "That's it! I'm changing it myself!" she exclaimed as she stomped out of the family room. She knew her mother's password so changing the parent controls would be simple.  
  
She was halfway through the kitchen when her mother called out after her. "I changed my password," she simply said.  
  
These four words set Katherine over the edge. "WHAT?!?!?!" she hollered as she quickly turned around. "Why in the world did you do that?!"  
  
Acting like she was being completely reasonable, her mother replied, "I didn't like that fact that you knew it."  
  
Katherine marched back into the family room. Glaring at her mother, she muttered, "What do I have to do to earn your trust?"  
  
"Tell me yours," her mother answered.  
  
"Now, you see, I have a reason not to tell you mine," Katherine started through her teeth. "I've caught you reading my IMs."  
  
"Well, I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours."  
  
"YOU GUYS ARE IMPOSSIBLE!!!" Katherine shouted at the top of her lungs.  
  
Her father quickly turned off the T.V. and sat up in the blue chair. "You are blowing this completely out of proportion!" he bellowed.  
  
Katherine just glared at him and bit her bottom lip. She wanted to so much to tell him exactly how she felt, but she couldn't. She couldn't do anything. They were always right and she was always wrong. All that she could to was storm off to her room. She sprinted up the steps as fast as she could. As she was running she heard her mother say, "What did I tell you? She has lost complete control."  
  
Moments later she finally reached her room and slammed the door shut. It was pitch black but she didn't care. As she jogged over to her bed, she accidentally tripped over the blue inflatable chair in the middle of the room making her to fall on her side. Even though her floor was carpeted, it was thin and old, causing an instant headache when her head hit the ground. She was inches away from her bed, but she didn't bother to stand back up; she just laid on the floor of her messy room, letting the tears roll down her cheeks.  
  
~*~  
  
"So, when you were living in a neighboring town, Shoka took ill and died?" Nuriko asked skeptically, trying to sum up the former doctor's story.  
  
Still in shock, Myojuan replied simply, "She did. I was the town's doctor."  
  
"Then that means we have to hurry up at get to Katherine!" Christina finished angrily, her hands still anxiously resting on her hips. Nuriko, Tasuki, and Christina ran out of the shack.  
  
"Shoka..." Myojuan murmured as they hurriedly shut the door. "It just couldn't be..."  
  
*  
  
Katherine abruptly woke up, finding herself in Shoka's house and lying on the soft bed. She was breathing heavily partly from the shikkonki and partly from the horrible nightmare. It was strange; she had never had a dream about something that actually happened to her, especially one that detailed. Frankly, she didn't want to have one like that ever again. Even though she loved her parents, she had a hard enough time dealing with them in her world. She didn't want to start dreaming about them in this world.  
  
She turned her head to the side and saw a shadow before her. She tried to focus, but she couldn't. Right when she was going to ask who it was, the shadow started to speak. "Katherine, thank goodness you're awake," Hotohori said, sounding relieved as he gently placed his hand on her cheek. "You scared me for a while there..."  
  
"H...how?" Katherine asked still slightly gasping for air as she laid her hand over his.  
  
"You were delirious," another voice answered. Katherine assumed that this voice must be Shoka's, knowing that it belonged to a female but definitely not to Christina. Hotohori looked at Katherine worriedly. "Hotohori, maybe you should get something to eat," said Shoka, seeing the look on his face. "You haven't eaten anything since last night, and the last thing I need is you getting sick." She gave him a quick smile, as if reassuring him that Katherine would be safe in her hands.  
  
"Don't go," Katherine pleaded, knowing that if he left her Shoka would try to kill her. She looked at the shadow in front of her with large puppy dog eyes and a pouted lip.  
  
"Don't worry, I'll never leave your side," Hotohori replied tenderly, looking deep into her eyes. Shoka stopped still, remembering those words were once said to her. She started to back into a far corner, desperately trying to control the demon within.  
  
"Shoka, what's wrong?" Hotohori inquired, noticing her peculiar reaction.  
  
"Leave...now..." Shoka muttered under her breath as she sunk to the floor.  
  
*  
  
The trio sprinted towards the city, running at full speed and too distracted to notice the eerie gray fog that had settled over the town. A loud whistling sound filled the air, causing them to stop in their tracks. They looked around confusedly, trying to figure out where the noise was coming from. Nuriko turned around in the direction where they had come from, and his jaw dropped as he stared, completely transfixed, at the cloud of butcher knives and daggers flying towards his head.  
  
"Get down!" Nuriko yelled as he quickly ducked to the ground. Tasuki and Christina quickly obeyed and jumped to the ground, just in time to miss the flurry of whirling blades.  
  
"What th' hell?!" Tasuki swore, surprised by the attack. They scrambled to their feet as a mob of zombies closed in on them. These monsters were different from the zombies that had attacked them earlier; these looked like normal people, besides the blank eyes and pale skin. Their eyes had rolled into the back of their heads, and the pallor of their skin seemed mottled and gray.  
  
The horde of monsters pressed in on all sides, forcing Christina, Nuriko, and Tasuki to retreat until their backs were pressed against each other.  
  
"What's with these guys?" Tasuki asked.  
  
"They're all zombies," Christina answered in amazement.  
  
"I bet it's that fog that's doing it to them," Nuriko said. The zombies pounced on the trio, grabbing at their necks in an attempt to suffocate them and pulling them towards the ground.  
  
Clawing at the rotting arms that were wrapped around her neck, Christina shouted, "Let me go!"  
  
"Cut it out!" Tasuki yelled angrily, "You guys want me t' burn you down!?"  
  
Christina struggled against the zombies, trying to get enough breath. "No, Tasuki!" she gasped, knowing that some of the zombies were innocent people.  
  
"Easy fer you t' say!" he angrily disagreed, but didn't use his tessen. "Then what should we do!?" Tasuki's question was answered by Nuriko, who was now wielding an abandoned wagon. Nuriko knocked the zombies away easily and then stuck the cart into the ground, forming a barrier against the fiends.  
  
"Christina! Leave this to us and help Katherine!" Nuriko ordered. Christina nodded quickly and ran towards Shoka's house.  
  
"Hold on!" Tasuki objected, not wanting her to run off alone, "I'm comin' with you!" He looked up and saw a zombie standing above him, smiling fiendishly and wielding a machete. As it moved to attack, the monster was struck down to the ground by a tall dark silhouette.  
  
"Wh-who th' hell are you?" Tasuki asked the shadowy figure.  
  
To Be Continued... 


	19. Episode 18: Battle of Anguish

AN: Sorry about ANOTHER long update. We spent FOREVER on the first half of this episode. It was so hard to get all the detail to flow together. Not only that, but we had to get our costumes ready for Ohayocon 2004, which, by the way, ROCKED!!! We went as...*drum roll please*...Nyan Nyan! WAHOO! We are hoping to get back on track and update episode nineteen in a timelier manner.  
  
Episode 18:  
  
Battle of Anguish  
  
By: Mrs. Tasuki and Nyan Nyan  
  
Tamahome's screams of pain rang throughout the dungeon in the Kutou palace, reverberating off of the cold granite walls and floors. He was chained up by his wrists and ankles, so there was no possible way he could move to avoid his penalty. Wearily, he looked down at the gray stone flooring that was now splattered crimson with blood.  
  
"Nakago! Stop it!!!" Miaka ordered in vain, wiping away the tears that flowed down her cheeks, praying that the general would stop hurting the blue-haired sei.  
  
"Some messages must be made perfectly clear," Nakago answered callously. "For example, 'what happens when a hostage tries to escape?' We must make sure that such a foolish thought never crosses his mind again," he continued, lifting up Tamahome's chin with the handle of the whip and sneering. "Now promise her eminence that you shall never leave these palace grounds."  
  
Sticking out his tongue rebelliously, Tamahome replied, "No way." Nakago responded by savagely whipping him across the chest, causing Tamahome to let out another cry of pain.  
  
"Stop it!!! You'll kill him!" Miaka shouted, falling weakly to the floor. She covered her face with her hands, trying to control her tears from falling. "Please Nakago, I'm begging you, let him go!"  
  
"He's unconscious...unchain him!" Nakago ordered a guard standing by the prison cell as Tamahome fell to the hard ground with a loud thump. "Remember this well, Tamahome," the general started, hovering over him. "You will never return to Konan. You are kept alive only at the whim of Lady Miaka...do not forget that!"  
  
*  
  
Hotohori approached Shoka cautiously, her face buried in her hands. "Go..." she muttered in a deep voice, much different from her own from the corner in which she was hiding.  
  
Katherine sat up in her bed, desperately trying to focus on what was happening around her. "Hotohori?" she mumbled, seeing his shadow slowly walk towards the shape of Shoka. "Hotohori, maybe we should listen to her," she warned, moving her legs to the side of the bed. She pushed herself off the cot, hoping her legs wouldn't fail her, but once all her weight was upon them she started to sink involuntarily to the floor.  
  
"Katherine!" Hotohori shouted, rushing over to aid her and catching her right arm before her body fully collapsed on the floor. She slowly stood up, leaning on his arm for support, cursing her illness. "Are you alright?" Hotohori tenderly asked while slightly lifting her chin.  
  
Brushing her hair out of her face, Katherine muttered, "Yeah...I'm fine."  
  
"You should take better care of yourself. I don't know what I would do if anything ever happened to you," he advised, looking into her hazel eyes.  
  
Shoka clasped her hands over her ears, trying to ignore the lovers' conversation. Starting to breathe heavily, she desperately fought to keep control of her body. "Stop..." she mumbled as memories of her own past flooded her mind, "STOP!!!"  
  
Hotohori and Katherine swiftly looked in Miss Shoka's direction to see what was wrong. Her blond hair had fallen out of her usual hairstyle and flowed about as though life was possessed in each individual strand, as if her hair was moving by its own free will. In a cold stare, she looked up, glaring at the couple who were kneeling on the floor with small, beady eyes. Her skin had become unusually pale, and blue veins had started to materialize up and down her flesh, as if she was aging decades in a matter of seconds.  
  
Hotohori stepped in front Katherine, putting his guard up, ready to protect her. As he raised his sword, he shouted, "I will not let you lay one finger on her!"  
  
Katherine stood clutching to Hotohori's long red tunic, feeling dizzier by the second. All of a sudden, Christina burst through the door, out of breath from running. She took one look at the once-beautiful Shoka, and gasped in surprise. "Oh my God!" she shouted, shocked to see such a stunning, sanguine person suddenly turn into a horrid monster.  
  
Katherine, who could not even see shadows anymore, turned towards the direction of her friend's voice. "Is she really that ugly?" she asked meekly, knowing that Shoka must have gone through a disturbing transformation, and part of her not wanting to know if it was true or not. But Christina was distracted from her friend's question, as she continued to stare in disgust at Shoka, still having trouble believing that she and the monster that stood before her was the same person.  
  
Shoka lunged towards Hotohori, baring her pointed teeth in an animal-like snarl. "Hotohori, watch out! She's been dead for a year!" Christina cried, running towards the emperor. She pushed him out of the way just in time, but in doing so exposed Katherine to the creature. Shoka's bony hand reached out towards the priestess, showing the yellow claws that were once finger nails. She grabbed the weak priestess in one swift move and spun the girl around until her hand rested upon Katherine's scalp, making sure the priestess couldn't budge.  
  
"Katherine!" Hotohori shouted, regaining his balance.  
  
"You're too late. This girl is MINE! Her bones will taste delicious," Shoka sneered in a malicious, rasping voice, digging her nails into Katherine's head. Katherine winced from the pain, trying to get away from the demon, but found herself too weak to wrench herself from Shoka's grasp.  
  
Hotohori started to run towards Shoka, aiming to break Katherine from her grip, but suddenly a deep voice ordered him to halt. The emperor stopped and looked over his shoulder, wondering who the owner of the monotone voice was. A tall broad-shouldered man with short black hair and a purple and yellow headband crisscrossing over his forehead stood before him. He was dressed in a yellow coat with a blue and red border over a white shirt and navy blue pants. "Shoka..." the strange man muttered unbelievingly at her dramatic change of appearance.  
  
"Tasuki! Nuriko! Are you two all right? Who is that man?" asked Hotohori, just noticing the two seishi standing behind the lofty figure.  
  
"He came out of nowhere and insisted on seeing Shoka," Nuriko explained as he walked towards the emperor while staring at Shoka, not taking his eyes off of her in case of an attack.  
  
"Myojuan..." Shoka mumbled to the stranger, suddenly longing for the man to hold her in his arms once again. Her hair became limp and the pale coloring in her face began to disappear.  
  
"He's that doctor?!" Nuriko and Tasuki screamed in unison, not believing that the unfriendly hermit was so young.  
  
"So you were the one spreading this plague," Myojuan accused sternly. "You've become a monster that sucks human souls."  
  
Nuriko arbitrarily tapped Tasuki's shoulder, hoping to get his attention. Tasuki looked behind him, wondering what the sei wanted, and was answered by Nuriko simply pointing towards the open window. Tasuki's eyes followed Nuriko's finger to find dozens of possessed peasants struggling to climb through the window. Drool drizzled uncontrollably down their faces as they gazed through the windowpane, their eyes colorless and vacant. "What th' hell is goin' on here?!" Tasuki shouted as he and Nuriko ran towards the window and quickly closed the shutters on the zombies' faces.  
  
"They were the townspeople that Shoka revived, but now they're undead under her control," Myojuan explained calmly, having full comprehension of the situation. "It's true isn't it, Shoka? But why?"  
  
"You have no right to ask!" cried Shoka, her anger and hate starting to flow through her blood, intoxicating her with rage. "When I caught the disease a year ago, you NEVER came to save me!!!" she continued, moving a long, jagged fingernail closer to Katherine's neck. "I trusted you. I waited! I bore the pain, because I knew you would come! But you..." she stopped for a moment, staring coldly at the hermit. "You think you have the right to say anything?! This girl will die! Then it will be your turn!"  
  
"Tasuki!" Hotohori shouted, unsheathing his sword.  
  
"Right!" Tasuki hollered back, pulling his tessen out of its scabbard. They both rushed towards Shoka, ready to obliterate the demon once and for all.  
  
"NO!" Christina screamed as she ran across the room. She stood in front of both Katherine and Shoka, her arms outstretched to shield the both of them. "I won't let you touch her!"  
  
"What're ya doin'!?" Tasuki yelled, sure that Christina had gone insane.  
  
"She came back to see Myojuan!" Katherine cried out. She glanced back at Miss Shoka, who was now looking more human than monster, though Katherine could not see it. "They loved each other!"  
  
Christina then turned to look back at Shoka, her arms still extended. "You're here because it hurt to die without seeing him one last time," she said quietly, her face and tone of voice growing gentler. She watched sadly as Shoka's face faded into its normal countenance. Myojuan, Hotohori, Tasuki, and Nuriko, who was still holding the windows against the zombies outside, looked on in shock.  
  
Shoka stood there, also frozen with astonishment. She slowly lifted her hand off of Katherine's head and let it fall despairingly to her side. Christina turned around to face Shoka completely and placed her hands gently upon her shoulders. "You can't hurt people because you miss him...because it wasn't his fault."  
  
"I...I was waiting for you..." Shoka confessed, sobbing weakly and wretchedly. "Please help me...please..." Christina felt Shoka's body go rigid and start to shake, as though a shock ran through her entire frame. She released her hold on Shoka's shoulders and started to back away in fear, grabbing Katherine's wrist and pulling her away as well.  
  
Shoka crossed her arms, nails digging into her shoulders, while her body convulsed, as though she was struggling to hold something inside. The fabric of the dress on her back started to ripple while she shuddered and trembled. Everyone in the room watched in horror as numerous spikes ruptured her backbone and burst through her skin, revealing an immensely gruesome beast with great, gnashing teeth and a gargantuan, bloodshot eye, more terrible beyond any horror one can dream of. It's great, bloated, insect-like mass swayed around, examining its surroundings before giving a bloodcurdling shriek, fangs oozing with stinking saliva. It screeched as it unfurled crimson tubules, stretching them towards Christina and Katherine, and finally wrapping the tentacles around the priestesses. Katherine screamed, feeling the prick of tiny teeth embedded in her skin, biting into her arms and legs. The girls were effortlessly lifted into the air by the blood-red tendrils and moved towards the monster's awaiting and snapping jaws.  
  
"Katherine!" Hotohori yelled out as he ran towards the monster, dodging the tentacles as he went.  
  
"Juan! Please! With your power, you could destroy this monster!" Shoka pleaded in desperation while Christina and Katherine struggled and cried out in pain as the teeth seemed to draw the very life out of them. "Juan hurry!" Shoka begged, "It will kill them!"  
  
Myojuan stepped forward, looking at his former love in shock and terror. "You were possessed by a plague demon!?"  
  
"I'm so sorry!" Shoka cried. "I was so lonely...please...free me!"  
  
Myojuan looked up at the two girls, helpless in the grasp of the monster, and back at Shoka, frozen in dismay at the events around him. He clutched the bandages that covered his left hand and began to tug them off, knowing what he must do.  
  
"No!" Christina shouted weakly.  
  
"Isn't there anything else we can do?" Katherine pleaded, breathing heavily from the mere effort of yelling out her question.  
  
Hotohori and Tasuki charged towards the demon, their weapons in hand. Hotohori slashed at the monster, watching in complete and utter shock as its appendages regenerated as soon as they had been removed. Tasuki sent a wave of fire towards the demon, and observed the redeveloping tentacles in surprise as well. A new series of tendrils stretched forth, seizing Nuriko, Tasuki, and Hotohori and raising them into the air too, bringing all of the monster's victims closer to its teeth. Christina screamed as she was elevated towards the creature's open jaws, welcomed by a blast of hot breath and the disgusting stench of its orifice.  
  
"Juan! Hurry!" Shoka yelled as the appendages wrapped around their necks, suffocating the seishi. Christina's eyes widened in terror as she stared into the jaws of the monster and at the acid that dripped from its fangs.  
  
Myojuan stepped forward and raised his left palm, summoning a power deep inside himself. Shoka looked up to Katherine, tears filling her eyes in knowledge that she would finally be free of the demon that had cursed her since she had died. "Katherine...you'll get better soon...goodbye..."  
  
"SHOKA!" Myojuan shouted as brilliant green glow emanated from his hand. The massive creature loosed an earsplitting shriek as the room was engulfed in light, temporarily blinding everyone from seeing what had happened.  
  
"Farewell, Juan...I just wanted to see you...one last time..."  
  
The seishi and Christina stood up, their eyes slowly adjusting to the sudden darkness. The house had disappeared, and now they were seated on the grass, observing the town around them.  
  
"Th' whole house was an illusion!" Tasuki marveled as he stared into the night sky.  
  
"Katherine, are you alright?" Hotohori asked as he gently lifted her head and pulled her from the ground.  
  
Christina covered her mouth in disgust as she surveyed the putrid collection of mummies surrounding her; she had landed in the center of where the undead villagers had fallen. Carefully stepping over the corpses, she made her way towards Katherine and Hotohori.  
  
"Th' spell got broken! An' that'll be th' end of th' plague!!" Tasuki crowed.  
  
"Katherine?!" Hotohori asked his priestess, who was now completely unconscious.  
  
"Don't worry," Myojuan comforted as he kindly lifted her chin and examined her. "She was just too close to the demon." He calmly raised his hand over her face as his the character for 'grief' started glowing. The gloom around Katherine deteriorated, and slowly the darkness lifted, becoming a technicolor blur. She blinked as the haze focused into the tall sei. Katherine rubbed her eyes as she sat up, asking, "What happened?"  
  
"My celestial warrior name is Mitsukake," he told the group as he stepped over the dew-drenched blades of grass to his fallen love and sadly looked into her beautiful countenance. "I have the great healing power."  
  
He tenderly brushed a strand of golden hair out of her face before carefully lifting her into his arms. "That's why I became I doctor; I wanted to help people with my power," he explained forlornly. "I was healing villagers in another town, and Shoka suddenly took ill. But I was too late. The one person I loved most of all, was the one I couldn't save! How dare I call myself a 'great doctor'!? This power of mine...was useless in the end!" He held Shoka's face to his, tears sliding down his face and gently splashing onto her cheeks. He stared angrily at his hands, cursing the power he possessed. "What good is the power to heal!? Nothing mattered! I lost her!"  
  
"So that's why you became a hermit," Nuriko muttered, trying to hold back his tears.  
  
Katherine slowly walked up behind Mitsukake, hoping to bring some comfort to him. "Just look at how peaceful she looks," Katherine started tenderly, while putting her hand on his shoulder. "You saved her."  
  
"I'll hang on, Shoka," Myojuan whispered in his lover's ear.  
  
Katherine lifted her hand off of his shoulder and bit her bottom lip. Tears forming in her eyes, she took a few soft steps backwards and slowly walked towards Christina. "We couldn't save her. What's the point of knowing if we can't do anything about it?" she quietly asked as tears streamed down her face.  
  
Christina looked at the ground and wiped away her tears with the back of her hand, her face in a frown as she struggled not to shed anymore tears. "I don't know," she admitted quietly, "I just don't know."  
  
*  
  
Everyone somberly walked back to the room at the inn, knowing that it was too late to start searching for the last seishi. Being lost in their thoughts, no one said a word the whole walk back. They quickly changed into their night clothes and plopped into bed.  
  
Katherine lay restlessly in the worn and lumpy mattress, pondering about what happened throughout the day. She kept on trying to find the non- existent comfortable spot on the bed before falling asleep. She couldn't stop thinking about the look of grief in Mitsukake's eyes as he tenderly held Shoka. Finally, she stood up and tiptoed to the bed next to hers, trying to not disturb anyone else. She looked down at her friend, whose mouth was wide open as she silently breathed, her petite body somehow covering the entire bed.  
  
Katherine put her hand on Christina's shoulder and gently shook it. "Christina, wake up," Katherine whispered in her ear, desperately hoping that no one else would wake up. She heard Christina mumble something inaudible. "That's it," Katherine muttered, glaring at her friend while she angrily put her hands on her hips. She grabbed Christina's arm, which was dangling lifelessly off the edge of the bed, and yanked it with all her might.  
  
Christina quickly snapped out of her blissful dream to find herself on the hard, dusty flooring with a thump. She looked up to see Katherine hovering over her. "What?" she irritably greeted while rubbing her shoulder, which had broken her fall.  
  
"We really need to talk," Katherine whispered, holding out her hand for Christina to grab and hoist herself off the old floorboards.  
  
Christina seized her friend's hand and drowsily asked, "Can't this wait till morning?" But instead of using Katherine's hand to help herself stand up, she grabbed it tightly and jerked it, causing Katherine lose her balance and fall down too.  
  
"No, not really," Katherine answered in a loud whisper while putting her palm behind Christina's head and thrusting her friend's face to the floor.  
  
"OW! Okay I'm up!" Christina yelled as she sat back up, her hands tenderly massaging her nose, which had absorbed the full blow of the wooden floor's wrath. Katherine placed her index finger over her lips, shushing her friend. They walked quietly into the hallway, not wanting to disturb the others.  
  
Still half-asleep, Christina sat down and leaned against the wall. "So, what's this about?" she asked while massaging her eyes, trying to rub the sleep out of them and fully wake up.  
  
Katherine sat down in the middle of the hallway across from her friend. "We need to figure what to do about Amiboshi," she answered with a serious face.  
  
Christina let out an exasperated sigh. "Can't we do this when I'm thinking properly?"  
  
Katherine's jaw slightly dropped, not believing her friend's immaturity. "No," she swiftly answered. "That's what you said about Mits and Shoka but that didn't work, remember?" she added with a sneer.  
  
Her eyes narrowing and her jaw clenched, Christina said through her teeth, "Don't you dare pin this on me! This whole thing is as much your fault as it is mine."  
  
Katherine let out a long sigh and rolled her eyes. Deep down, she knew Christina was right, but she didn't want to have to face the guilt. "Anyways..." she continued slightly annoyed, wanting to stay on the topic of Amiboshi. "We absolutely cannot let Amiboshi pose as Chiriko again."  
  
Even though Christina was still slightly offended by what Katherine had said, she decided to let it go for now. "So, ya have any ideas?" she asked cheerfully, hiding her true emotions.  
  
Having thought of this earlier while she was still in bed, Katherine responded, "Well, if we find Chiriko before we find Amiboshi, then there won't be a problem, right? But I completely forget what city Chiriko lives in."  
  
Christina furrowed her brow, trying to remember what she had read on a random Chiriko web page. "Doesn't he live in that place really far away?" she asked in the middle of her pondering. "He did have to travel, like, a whole day just to get to the palace."  
  
"Yeah..." Katherine softly replied, biting her bottom lip. She started to snap her fingers while quickly saying, "Chiriko...Chiriko...Chiriko...Chiriko..."  
  
Shaking her hands about crazily, Christina excitedly whispered, "Oh! Oh! Doesn't it start with something that sounds like 'Jo' or something like that?!"  
  
"Yeah!" Katherine agreed happily, glad that the conversation was going somewhere useful. "Jo...Jo...Jo...Jo...Jo...Jo...Jo..." she chanted, inadvertently snapping her fingers as thought.  
  
"Would'ja stop?" Christina asked irritably, shutting her eyes tightly to ignore the barrage of noise.  
  
"Sorry! It helps me think!" Katherine argued.  
  
In a loud whisper, Christina shushed, "Don't scream, we'll wake them up."  
  
"Sorry," Katherine whispered.  
  
"Well, tomorrow we can ask everyone if they know a city that starts with a 'Jo'," Christina concluded.  
  
"What are we gonna be like? 'By some unknown force we have discovered that the city where Chiriko is located sounds like 'Jo','" she imitated, mocking a low professional voice.  
  
Knowing Katherine had a point, Christina pondered for a few more moments. "Ooooh! Light bulb!" she whispered dynamically. "I can be like: 'Last night, I had a dream!'" she shouted melodramatically, her fist in the air exaggeratedly.  
  
"That all men and women were created equal," Katherine sardonically muttered.  
  
"Shut up. First of all, that's not how it goes. And second of all, I'm not done." She resumed her dramatic stance. "'And there was the symbol of Chiriko and it was glowing over a city. I then heard some word that sound like Jo-'" she continued, her gaze towards the heavens.  
  
"Whatever you say..." Katherine mumbled, rolling her eyes. "But, umm...we can't read Chinese, so how would you have known it was Chiriko's symbol?" she asked, suddenly realizing an error in Christina's plan.  
  
"I'll figure it out when the time comes," Christina stated haughtily.  
  
*  
  
"WAKE UP! RISE AND SHINE!" Nuriko joyfully shouted in Katherine's ear.  
  
"AH! NURIKO! That was evil..." she complained, shoving her head under her pillow to hide from the light and noise.  
  
Tasuki was leaning over Christina, shaking her shoulders in an attempt to wake her up. "Are ya gonna get up?"  
  
Christina slowly opened her eyes, and gasped when she focused in on someone's face, since it was only a few inches from her own. "You scared me!" she replied angrily.  
  
"My face ain't scary!" he countered grumpily.  
  
"C'mon you two, we are setting off to find the last warrior today," Hotohori said to the priestesses, pulling a red tunic over his white shirt and brown pants. Katherine sat in up bed and rubbed her eyes, finally awake.  
  
Making the bed, Mitsukake inquired, "How exactly do we find them?"  
  
"Oh my god! You guys! Last night, I had a dream!" Christina said excitedly. Katherine stared at Christina for a moment, not believing her friend was going to follow through with the plan. Having full knowledge of what was coming next, she buried her face into her pillow, trying to smother her laughter.  
  
"Big surprise," Nuriko muttered sarcastically, continuing to pack his bags.  
  
"Katherine, are you alright?" Hotohori asked Katherine. She nodded back, still trying to contain her giggles.  
  
Staring at Katherine confusedly, Tasuki questioned, "What's up with her?"  
  
"YOU GUYS! OVER HERE!" Christina shouted, waving her arms for attention. "Anyways, there was this red symbol thing over the city! I think it's Chiriko's symbol. It looked like this..." she trailed off, walking over to the window and drawing the character for 'stretching' on the filthy window. "And I heard someone saying something like 'jo' while I saw a town in the distance," she finished, exactly like she had said to Katherine last night.  
  
Katherine laughed even harder. "I can't believe you..." she said between her chuckles, tears welling up in her eyes.  
  
"Are you serious?" Nuriko marveled confusedly, looking from Christina to the symbol traced onto the window. "That means stretching."  
  
"SO!?" Christina yelled defensively. "Your symbol means willow!"  
  
Nuriko raised his eyebrows, then answered, "I'm willowy!" while gracefully posing.  
  
"Yeah, and maybe Chiriko's tall," Katherine added ironically, knowing the truth about Chiriko's height.  
  
"So...are there any towns 'round here that start with something that sounds like 'Jo'?" Christina asked hopefully, changing the subject from Nuriko, who was still modeling his gracefulness. She turned to Hotohori, assuming that he would probably know.  
  
"I don't believe so..." Hotohori answered while rubbing his chin in thought.  
  
Katherine was strongly reminded of the song she used to sing so many times while she babysat. "Hi, my name is Joe. I have a wife and three kids and I work in a button factory," she sang, dancing around in a circle.  
  
Christina suddenly remembered when she used to sing that song in elementary school. "One day, my boss said to me, he said, 'Joe. Are you busy?' I said, 'No'," she and Katherine continued to sing, swinging around each other in a 'mock bandit dance'. Tasuki scowled at the girls, as they continued. "Joe, push the button with your right hand!"  
  
"There's one west of here called Jouzen-shi..." Mitsukake offered, ignoring the two energetic priestesses.  
  
"That's it!!!" Katherine gasped, her eyes wide, suddenly stopping their dance.  
  
"How would you know?" Nuriko asked suspiciously.  
  
"Priestess intuition," answered Christina. Unfazed by the interruptions, they resumed their song. "'Are you busy?' I said, 'No'. Joe, push the button with your left hand."  
  
*  
  
Joan and Diana froze, like two stone statues, at the creaking sound of the garage door opening. Diana shut the book quickly, and struggled to hide it from site by covering the red novel with her hands. She immediately adopted a guise of innocence as the door from the garage slowly opened, revealing Joan and Katherine's father. He was wearing his casual golfing attire with the logo for his bank on the corner of his shirt. He calmly walked into the room, and asked, "Hello, where's mom?"  
  
"Up-upstairs," Joan stammered. Diana elbowed her friend, wishing she wouldn't act so nervous, since the last thing they needed was to try to explain where Katherine and Christina were. To Diana's dismay, Joan's father's gaze fell down upon the tattered, red book that she was protectively clutching in her hands. Diana swallowed, a lump in her throat rising from apprehension, and tightened her vice-grip on the book.  
  
"What's that?" he inquired.  
  
"Diana brought some manga for me to see," Joan answered quickly, glancing over at Diana in question, as thought wondering if she had said the right thing.  
  
Using his moniker for the word 'anime' that both Katherine and Joan hated, he inquired, "Ani-gay?" He chuckled at his humor, and then looked back to his eldest daughter, almost daring her to talk back and correct him.  
  
"Yes, ani-gay," Joan answered compliantly, inadvertently tapping her foot on the ground in her state of anxiety.  
  
Looking around the room for Katherine, Joan's father asked, "Where's your sister?"  
  
"Umm...at the movies with Christina...and they'll call me when they're done...and then we'll go to Diana's. Is that okay?" Joan answered fretfully.  
  
"You're coming over?" Diana gasped in surprise, eyes wide and mouth agape, then caught herself and added, "You're coming over!" She looked up to her friend's dad and flashed a large, fake smile.  
  
Joan's father looked suspiciously from Diana's cheesy grin to his daughter, who was turning bright red from holding her breath with concern. "Fine with me, but you should ask your mother," he said as he left the room and headed upstairs. Joan finally let out a long, exasperated sigh as he disappeared from sight, her face shifting from a bright, tomato-red to a normal skin tone.  
  
"What am I gonna do?" demanded Diana sarcastically. "Say, 'Hey mom, dad, Joan's sleeping over!'?"  
  
"We could go to a hotel..." Joan shrugged, trying to think of someplace else to go where they couldn't be bothered.  
  
Diana raised her eyebrows to see if Joan was actually serious, "No. Just...no."  
  
"Why?" Joan asked, totally oblivious to the sexual implication. "But...oh..." she realized as she teasingly put her arm around Diana's shoulders, and slyly grinned, "You know you want to..."  
  
Diana slapped Joan's arm off of her, and grumpily muttered, "I'll talk to my aunt..."  
  
*  
  
"Finally!" Katherine exclaimed as they entered the city of Jouzen-shi. "I thought we would never get here!"  
  
"Christina, was there anything else in your dream?" Hotohori inquired, looking over to the priestess, who was marveling at the city. He noticed that Katherine and Christina seemed to be interested everywhere they went, as though they had never seen houses before. It caused him to wonder what kind of world the priestesses came from, especially since they couldn't even use chopsticks well.  
  
"Like did you see what his house looked like or something?" Katherine wondered, winking her left eye flashily in hopes that Christina would pick up her idea quickly.  
  
Christina stared at her friend confusedly, not sure what she was supposed to say. "Err...umm..." she mumbled as she desperately tried to figure out her friend's secret code.  
  
"Like was it really small or REALLY big?" Katherine continued, nodding and raising her eyebrows for the latter selection.  
  
"Oh!" Christina marveled. "Yeah! It was really big! Like huge!" she stated, stretching her arms to depict the sheer magnitude of the home as Katherine nodded in agreement.  
  
Mitsukake glanced at Nuriko questioningly, and received a look that revealed the purple haired sei was thinking that the girls were acting strange as well. Nuriko shrugged an answer, unseen to Christina or Katherine, who was still nodding fervently. Mitsukake raised his eyebrow, still somewhat skeptical.  
  
"So," Christina continued, not noticing Nuriko or Mitsukake's strange looks, "we just need to find a really big mansion..." Katherine and Christina looked around, scanning the scenery for large homes.  
  
"Oh yeah!" Katherine suddenly shouted, remembering that The Universe of the Four Gods had clues about each sei. She reached into her small, red book bag and pulled out the scroll. "Can someone read this scroll for us?"  
  
"I will," Nuriko volunteered, taking the scroll from Katherine's hands. "The last one says 'intellect'."  
  
"What th' hell is tha' supposed t' mean?" asked Tasuki.  
  
"Now that I think about it, I do recall a religious pilgrim telling me about a young boy around here taking the Kakyo exam," Hotohori mused, ignoring the sei's choice wording.  
  
"Maybe he could be the last seishi..." Christina suggested, looking innocently up at the sky.  
  
"Hmm...you never know..." agreed Katherine, pressing her index finger over her lips naively.  
  
"So..." Nuriko said, "We're looking for a symbol that says 'stretching', a big house, and a genius boy?"  
  
"Yeah, pretty much," Christina answered, looking over her shoulder at the sei on the steed behind her.  
  
Katherine suddenly heard a soft music, causing her to stop her horse out of fear. She listened closer, confirming her assumptions that the music was coming from a flute. "Hey..." she meekly whispered to Christina, stopping her horse and looking around fretfully. "Do you hear that?"  
  
Christina pulled back on the reins of her mare and listened intently, to hear a quiet, almost silent melody behind her. The priestesses both looked around in a panic, trying to find where the music radiated from. The remaining seishi turned around as they noticed the girls were looking around in fear.  
  
"What's up with 'em?" Tasuki inquired quietly.  
  
"Shhh!" Katherine scolded, holding up a finger to silence the bandit. Everyone was silent, ears pricked, listening for an inaudible noise. Katherine and Christina seemed to recognize the sound, and they stared at each other.  
  
Noticing their shocked reactions, Nuriko questioned, "Someone's playing the flute...so?"  
  
"We were so close too..." Katherine muttered disappointedly, slapping her forehead with her left hand. She looked disappointedly at Christina, who stared back nervously. Nothing was said, but both girls knew they had to quickly think of something. The last thing they needed was to run into Amiboshi.  
  
"Umm...hey, you guys..."Christina started slowly, trying to change her story so they could leave. "I just remembered, in the dream..."  
  
"Yes?" Katherine asked, hoping that her friend had thought of an amazing excuse, for her mind was drawing a blank.  
  
"It wasn't 'Jo', it was 'Cho'!" the priestess exclaimed, spontaneously changing the story of her dream.  
  
"As in Choko?" Nuriko wondered, sighing in incredulity.  
  
"Yeah, that's it! Where we found Mitsukake!" Christina replied.  
  
Playfully slapping her friend's arm, Katherine rebuked, "No wonder you saw a symbol glowing there! You idiot!"  
  
"So, ya had a dream 'bout a sei we already found!?" Tasuki asked, his jaw dropping in disbelief at the fact that they spent days traveling  
  
"I guess she did!" Katherine smiled, letting out a rather fake laugh.  
  
"How does that explain the 'stretching' symbol?" questioned Hotohori.   
  
"Well, like I said earlier," Katherine added, "the seishi she was dreaming about could be tall...and just look at Mits! I mean, no offense or anything..."  
  
"He could play for the NBA! So no seishi here!" Christina finished, tugging her horse's reins to turn, wanting to get out of the city as soon as possible.  
  
"Hi-dee-ho, let's go!" Katherine chanted, also turning her horse around and trotting in the direction they had just come from. The seishi, with no other choice but to follow, turned and trailed after the two girls' steeds, muttering amongst themselves why they were letting two girls, who weren't even from Konan, lead them around the countryside.  
  
The town was larger than most the group had visited, barely smaller than even the capital city. The dirt roads were clustered with people, horses, and carriages, all hurrying about busily to the wide array of shops and houses.  
  
Many classes of citizens walked about, all wearing strange garbs in bright colors. From kimonos and robes that resembled those of the palace inhabitants, to simple pants and shirts. Musicians played instruments at street corners, cases open for spare change, charming listeners with their tunes. Necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and rings winked from brightly colored stands, attracting customers to touch the cool metal while beautifully fashioned weapons waited patiently in cases, drawing curious children and inquisitive adults alike to admire the craftsmanship. The soft singing of a flute soared through the air, the notes so sweet and pure that a crowd had begun to form around the performer. The man had scruffy, brown hair and a short mustache that was uncommon for most. His lean build was dressed in a simple pair of brown pants and a white shirt. Despite his humble appearance, the music of his flute swelled, rivaling that of a professional instrumentalist.  
  
In front the musician there was a small boy, who looked about ten years old, looking up at him with admiration. But suddenly the boy's daydreams were interrupted by his older brother calling him. "Doukun! Hurry up!" the voice yelled above the notes.  
  
The young child in a bright green kimono that matched his eyes glanced around in surprise, yanked out of his daze. He bowed quickly, thanking the musician. While he jerked his head back up, his light brown hair, which was in a pony-tail, bounced. "Coming!" the boy shouted, placing some extra change in the musician's open box.  
  
To Be Continued...  
  
AN2: We spent a lot of time trying to make the last part of the episode make sense. If any of you out there are confused, please send a review telling us so, and we will try to explain it in the next episode. But, honestly, don't read too much into it. We would have asked our editor, Emi (the best person ever), to help us out, except for we just discovered she has mono. So now we are editor-less for this episode and the next one because we forbid her to get out of bed.  
  
~*~  
  
FUSHIGI AKUGI ~Blame the Dr. Pepper~  
  
Mits: You shall be healed! (Places hand over Katherine) Behold the power of Suzaku!!! YOU SHALL BE ABLE TO SEE!  
  
Katherine: AHHH! GLORY BE TO SUZAKU! He has healed the demon inside!!!  
  
Mits: Now, remember, you are special and Suzaku loves you!  
  
Christina: (Singing in diva-mode) OUR GOD IS AN AWESOME GOD HE REIGNS FROM HEAVEN ABOVE!  
  
Nuriko: (Clapping) GLORY BE!!!  
  
Tasuki: CAN I HEAR AN 'AMEN'!?!?  
  
Hotohori: Amen!!! (Falls to knees)  
  
Tasuki: Hallelujah!?!?  
  
Hotohori: HALLELUJAH! PRAISE THE LORD!!!  
  
Tasuki: PRAISE THE LORD!  
  
Katherine: (Running around) I can see!!! 


	20. Episode 19: Hidden Emotions

AN: If you don't know who Amiboshi is either find out, or don't read this episode. We are not responsible of any spoilers that may appear. Thanks for your cooperation!  
  
Episode 19:  
  
Hidden Emotions  
  
By: Nyan Nyan and Mrs. Tasuki  
  
On the gold and red-painted horizon, Katherine glimpsed a small town filled with quaint timber cottages. Her mind instantly flew back to a month ago when she was at Tamahome's village, realizing the two looked identical. She turned her head around and called to her friend, "Hey Christina!" She almost started to chuckle, seeing that her friend and Tasuki were sharing a horse and joking amongst themselves.  
  
"Yeah?" Christina replied, snapping her head up and looking to her friend on the horse ahead of her.  
  
Completely forgetting about Tamahome's township, Katherine asked with a sly smile, "Enjoying yourself?"  
  
Christina put on a truly confused look, not even understanding what her friend meant. "Yeah...what about yourself?" she asked innocently.  
  
Katherine looked up at Hotohori, who was now controlling the horse they were riding. He gazed down at her and smiled slightly, causing chills to run up Katherine's spine. She turned back to Christina with a devious smile on her face. "Very much so," she whispered in low voice.  
  
"Hey, you guys, isn't that Tamahome's village?" Nuriko asked, noticing the small cottages approaching them. "Wow, it's been awhile!" he cheerfully continued, not even waiting for a response.  
  
"Who's Tamahome?" Tasuki asked Mitsukake, who was riding beside him on Katherine's old horse. The doctor, who was not a man of many words, only shrugged in response.  
  
"Tama's another sei," Christina answered simply, "He's in Kutou, taking a...personal vacation."  
  
*  
  
Chuei ran through the village as fast as he could. The small houses passed by him swiftly as he focused on one destination. A burning sensation in his lungs occurred with every breath, but he couldn't let that stop him. Picking up his pace, he saw the small office loom ahead of him. One of the doctor's helpers was sitting out front, knitting while humming a gentle song. "Wh...Where's the doctor?" Chuei asked, gasping for air, once he was within hearing distance.  
  
"He's not here. He had to go to the local market to pick up some medicine, but he will be back by this evening. Is there something I can help you with?" the assistant asked politely, oblivious to the crisis Chuei was currently facing.  
  
"My father-" he started, but was quickly interrupted by someone calling him.  
  
"Yo, Chuei!" Katherine called, noticing he was distressed and gasping for air as if he had been running. She jumped off the horse and ran towards him to see if he was okay. Hotohori followed behind her in a slow trot, wondering what the commotion was about. The priestess knelt down on one knee in front of the boy, so she could look directly at his face. "Is it your father?" she whispered.  
  
Chuei swiftly nodded, catching his breath. "He's in terrible pain, and the doctor isn't here!" he continued, tears forming in his eyes.  
  
"Don't worry! Mitsukake can heal him," Christina chimed in, hopping off her horse and walking towards him.  
  
Running towards Tamahome's house, Katherine cheered excitedly, "Yeah! C'mon Mits! Let's go!"  
  
*  
  
Gyokuran closely watched over her father, praying that Chuei found the doctor quickly. Hearing the door open behind her, she whipped around with a hopeful glisten in her eyes. Her jaw slightly dropped as she looked up at the tall man standing behind her older brother and the two priestesses. His firm stance and broad shoulders sent shivers down Gyokuran's spine. She abruptly snapped out of her state of awe and quickly bowed, trying to make up for lost time. "Hello priestesses...sir," she greeted in a meek voice. The tall sei responded with a slight nod of the head.  
  
Grabbing Mitsukake's arm, Katherine nervously declared, "C'mon Mits, he's over here." She led him to Tamahome's father, who was gasping for air and in a great deal of pain. Mitsukake kneeled down beside the small cot. He placed his left hand over the ailing man and closed his eyes. Green bubbles began to flow out of his hand towards Tamahome's father while the character for 'grief' shined brilliantly.  
  
Chuei and his three siblings gathered around their father to find his breathing becoming steadier as his face relaxed. They let out a sigh of relief to see their father's eyes slowly open for the first time in days. "F-Father?" Gyokuran stammered in disbelief.  
  
"He'll be all right now. I was able to cure him," Mitsukake informed, slowly rising to his feet.  
  
Tears of joy forming in his eyes, Chuei looked down at his father, grateful to see him healthy once again. "Thank you so much! I don't know what we can do to repay..." he started, but was soon cut short by the healer letting off a soft moan.  
  
"Mits?!" Katherine exclaimed, watching the doctor grab on to the bed for support. "Are you okay?"  
  
Gently rubbing his forehead, Mitsukake caught his balance before answering. "I just need some rest..." he started, letting out a faint sigh. "I use my own strength to heal. I can only do it once a day."  
  
Chuei gently tapped the doctor's shoulder, hoping grab his attention. Holding out a small pile of coins, he remorsefully said, "Mister, it's all the money we have."  
  
With a kind smile on his face, Mitsukake slowly lifted his hand in opposition. "I don't want it. Fish would help your father; use the money to buy some for him-" he informed, but was interrupted by his white cat letting off a soft purr. "And for this one too," he continued with lightly patting the white cat on the head.  
  
"Yes, sir!" Chuei excitedly exclaimed while running out the door.  
  
"Mister, may I please see your kitty?"  
  
Mitsukake looked down to see where the little voice was coming from and found a small boy with dirty blond hair looking up at him. A slight smile spread on the doctor's face as the child's eyes grew with eagerness. "Of course, he likes to be scratched behind the ears," Mitsukake answered tenderly, picking up his cat and placing him on the floor next to the boy.  
  
"What's his name?" the boy wondered as cautiously approached the cat.  
  
Kneeling down, Mitsukake replied, "His name is Tama."  
  
"Neat! My name is Shunkei, Tama," the boy greeted while scratching Tama's ear, to the response of happy purring.  
  
Observing the meager surroundings, Hotohori gradually observed the small house. "This is Tamahome's home?" he asked in pure shock. "I didn't think families living such simple, dirty, unbelievably poor lives really existed. An emperor should rule that his subjects can be saved from this terrible life!" he vowed while clenching his hand.  
  
Yuiren looked up in awe at a tall woman with long brown hair. She seemed about the same age as her older brother, Tamahome. Yuiren grabbed the woman's attention by lightly tugging on her pants. The woman looked down, revealing her gentle golden eyes. Kneeling down, the lady asked, "What is it, child?"  
  
"Are you my big brother's wife, Miss?" Yuiren meekly asked.  
  
"I am a man," Hotohori calmly stated.  
  
Taking a step back in shock, Yuiren exclaimed, "But, you're so pretty!"  
  
"Even though you're poor, you're a good, truthful child!" the sei affirmed in pure delight while hugging the child tightly.  
  
Katherine, who was watching the whole scene, let out a long content sigh and whispered "God, I love you," while slightly shaking her head, despite the groans and sighs of everyone else.  
  
Hotohori slowly let go of Tamahome's younger sister and stood up. "I heard that," he said with a slight smile while walking towards Katherine. He lightly grabbed her waist and they swayed back and forth.  
  
"Yeah? Whatcha gonna do about it?" Katherine playfully asked while tapping him on the nose.  
  
"I'm going-"Hotohori whispered while moving his lips closer to hers.  
  
Katherine saw slight movement out of the corner. Out of curiosity, she let her eyes roll in that direction to find a large gray rat with beady red eyes looking at her. "AHHH!!! It's a rat!" she screamed, jumping into Hotohori's arms.  
  
Christina looked at the rat and then at Katherine in Hotohori's arms. Clutching her stomach and leaning upon Nuriko for support, she said in between her laughter, "You're so pathetic!"  
  
"Hey! It's not my fault I have a phobia against rats!" Katherine shouted defensively.  
  
"Uh...Katherine...the mouse ran away," Nuriko stated, realizing that Katherine was still in Hotohori's arms.  
  
Katherine looked at where the mouse once was and looked back at Hotohori. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she replied with a sigh, "Yeah, but I'm kinda enjoying this." Raising one eyebrow, Hotohori looked down at her while Nuriko stared at the priestess coldly. Katherine suddenly remembered Nuriko's rash temper and quickly jumped out of the emperor's arms. She quickly sidestepped behind Hotohori and said with a frightened voice, "Please don't break me in half!"  
  
Humbly tapping Christina's shoulder, Gyokuran asked, "Lady Priestess, where's our big brother?"  
  
"Ummm...he is helping us stop the war in Kutou," Christina answered promptly, not wanting to tell them the whole story, but as she watched her eyes grow in fear for the safety of her big brother, she knew she could have found a better answer. "But don't worry he'll be just fine, and he's coming back soon," the priestess quickly added, pleased to see her let out a small sigh of relief.  
  
Chuei appeared in the doorway with his blue hair tied back in a ponytail, much like Tamahome's. "Sir, I brought the fish," he said, holding a woven basket. "I'll clean it and cook it now."  
  
"Dude, look! It's a mini Tamahome!" Katherine exclaimed with a wide smile while pointing to him.  
  
Christina let out a long sigh and looked down at the floor. "I kinda miss Tama..." she replied somberly, hanging her head.  
  
"Me too..." Katherine mumbled, slightly slouching. She then looked suspiciously at Christina, realizing that this was extremely out of character for them. "Who saw that coming?!" she asked in amazement.  
  
"Yeah...it's really weird..." Christina agreed, biting her bottom lip.  
  
"With his hair in a pony tail, he does bear a striking resemblance to his brother," Hotohori noted, observing the change of hairstyle.  
  
Nuriko walked over to the fire and started boiling a pot of water. Noticing that Chuei was damp, he guessed, "You caught the fish at the river? What about Tamahome's money?"  
  
Cleaning the fish, Chuei glanced over at Nuriko incredulously, "Oh, no, I couldn't waste it! I have to be really careful in how I use it."  
  
A sigh escaped from Nuriko's lips, "You've got your brother's money sense too."  
  
*  
  
Trying to get through another night of insomnia, Katherine rolled around in her bed. She slowly stood up, deciding that sleep was a pleasure she would not experience that night. A breath of fresh air could be the cure to her restlessness. She stepped outside, making sure that there were no bats around, and stretched her arms, letting out a long sigh into the cold night air. She spotted a lone figure, sitting on a large boulder, silhouetted against the pale moonlight that shone down through the trees. Katherine crept towards the shape, her bare feet brushing against the already-forming dew on the blades of soft grass.  
  
"Christina?" Katherine quietly asked the figure, who neither turned nor jumped at the sudden noise. "Christina, is that you?" Katherine she asked again as she dared to step closer. The silhouette slowly turned its head and Katherine breathed a sigh of relief.  
  
Christina looked back at Katherine, wondering why her friend had interrupted her thoughts. She turned back around, resuming her former position of staring up at the sky. Katherine walked next to her and sat down. "What are you doing out here by yourself?" she asked.  
  
"Thinking," Christina simply answered. She had been outside for about half an hour, trying to get some time to herself. She was capable of being a serious person, but she hid her personality behind the façade of a comic. She had the feeling that she could only be truly serious when she was alone. She despised telling anyone how she really felt about any occasion, and found it easier to keep whatever it was to herself. She took a deep breath of the cool night air and tilted her head back to the sky, where the stars glimmered brightly.  
  
"Thinking about what?" Katherine curiously inquired.  
  
"Everything," she sighed in the same, empty voice. She buried her head in her hands and took a deep, trembling breath, not sure whether or not to tell Katherine about what was bothering her. "How we're screwing everything up. How nothing's going right. How everyone seems to be looking up to us, and how we...how I am still trying to convince myself that this is just a big joke, and that nothing is real and that I'll wake up tomorrow and be in my bed at home. How Tamahome is in Kutou and we don't even know if he's alright. How Miaka is probably lonely in the palace, because the only people there are from Kutou, and we don't even know what Nakago is doing to her."  
  
Christina sighed again, and sadly looked at her friend. "Katherine, an entire country is depending on us. And I don't know what to do. If we try to change anything, what if worse things happen? This isn't a game, and nothing's simple. And what if anyone finds out that we know everything? What'll happen then? We can't play God, and I'm sick of trying."  
  
Katherine sat down next to her friend and stared down at the grass. She never knew her friend to be so solemn. Christina was the one she had always counted on to cheer her up if something went wrong. Katherine always had the tendency to obsess over everything; in her mind she always wanted to plan everything out, down to the last detail. She took a minute to look at Christina's point of view, by now everyone expected her to be the entertainer. Maybe that was why she wanted to bring Christina to Konan in the first place. She wanted someone with an optimistic attitude to help her through everything. Deep down, Katherine knew that the whole time Christina was hiding something; she now regretted not taking the time to figure out what it was. While nervously playing with her hands, Katherine asked, "So, you've been thinking about this too? Why didn't you say anything?"  
  
"I don't wanna bother anyone..." stated her friend with a simple shrug of her shoulders.  
  
Concerned, Katherine looked up at Christina, trying to find the logic behind her secrecy. "But didn't it ever cross your mind that I may be worried about the same thing?" she asked in a soft voice.  
  
"Umm..." Christina awkwardly trailed off trying to change the subject of conversation, "How about we play with the Game Boys I brought?"  
  
Looking at her friend incredulously, Katherine remained motionless Christina ran into the cottage and grabbed her little black backpack. She ran happily back towards the gray rock with the backpack swinging from elbow.  
  
Christina quickly pulled out a lime green and a purple Game Boy. Her brother had gotten a new Game Boy Advance a few months earlier, and had totally forgotten about his old ones. Christina stretched herself across a rock and attempted to beat the current record at The Legend of Zelda while Katherine, who was leaning against a tree, was trying to win Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  
  
Christina paused her game and turned on her watch light so she could see the time. "It's ten twenty-eight," she randomly said, informing her friend of the time, then returned to her Game Boy. A sudden noise of rustling grass caused Katherine to look up, wondering who was approaching at this late hour. Most of the town had already gone to sleep as soon as the sun had set.  
  
Tasuki looked at Katherine and Christina in bewilderment, wondering why the girls were still up so late in the evening. "Hey," he greeted.  
  
"Yo," greeted Katherine, causing Christina to look up at the unexpected disruption. Christina saluted Tasuki with two fingers, and then looked back down at her videogame.  
  
"Why are you up?" Katherine asked curiously.  
  
"As if I'd go t' bed as soon as th' sun set," he answered smugly. "What about you two?" he asked.  
  
"As if I'd go to sleep before midnight," Christina smiled as Katherine nodded in agreement.  
  
Katherine glanced back and forth between Tasuki and her friend, and then feigned a rather dramatic and flashy yawn. "Wow, it's getting kinda late," Katherine lied as she checked a nonexistent watch on her wrist. Christina looked at her friend in surprise, trying to figure what she was thinking. It was only a moment ago that Katherine was agreeing that she wouldn't go to bed before twelve o'clock. Katherine flipped the switch to her videogame and turned it off, shoving it into Christina's hands with a raised eyebrow. She skipped off to the house, throwing a last glance at the two right before she walked inside.  
  
"Oh no, oh no, oh no," Christina quickly mumbled, wondering why Katherine would leave her alone. She just knew she was going to do something stupid and make herself look like an idiot, or a tomboy. She couldn't even remember all the times where she had ended up being 'one of the guys' because of her boyish ways.  
  
Pointing at the two Game Boys that Christina was holding, Tasuki asked, "So what're ya doin'?"  
  
"Oh...just playing a video game," she answered, trying to be nonchalant. "Do you wanna try?"  
  
"I guess," he answered as he walked over and sat down beside her.  
  
"Okay," she said as she grabbed the Game Boy Katherine had been using. She flipped the switch on, causing the game to beep and the main screen to appear. He leaned over her shoulder to see what was going on, and Christina could feel herself involuntarily tense up. She was always really nervous around guys she remotely liked more than friends. When she was at home, it was so easy to say how she and Tasuki would be perfect for each other, but now that she was in Konan, and he was sitting right next to her, she didn't know what to think. He didn't even like girls. She knew that they would probably end up being just friends, but she couldn't help but wonder. "Better than nothing," she thought, cursing herself for how many times she had said that phrase before.  
  
"Umm...well, I guess I'll have to start a game for you," she chattered as a little screen popped up, prompting her to enter a name. She flipped on the light above the display, illuminating the screen and played with the arrow keys until 'TASUKI' appeared in the miniature box. "Okay..." she started to explain as she started at the first level. "You press these arrows to move," she demonstrated as she flipped the two of the buttons, making Michelangelo walk across the display. "And you press this one to bash people with your little stick thing. The weapons are different when you change players, but it's the same thing really," she continued as she beat up the evil ninjas. "And..." she tried to remember if she forgot anything. "Oh! Can't forget, this button here is how you jump, like over bad guys and cars...and trashcans. And if you push different combos of buttons you get different moves and stuff."  
  
Christina paused the game and turned her head up and looked at Tasuki skeptically, knowing that she wasn't very good at explaining things. "Do you get it?"  
  
"Yeah, but what's th' point of it?" he asked, not seeing what the big deal was. He couldn't believe that Christina and Katherine had been outside for hours pushing buttons. Their world must be a really weird place if this was a way to pass time.  
  
"Well...the point is...umm..." she faltered, having no clue what to say. She'd never really contemplated the meaning of a video game before. "I guess the point is to have something to do when you're bored....and to improve your hand-eye-coordination," she added jokingly. She handed him the game and pushed the pause button again. She watched him randomly press buttons for a few minutes until he seemed to get a feel for it. Christina reached behind her for her own Game-Boy and resumed her game.  
  
Tapping the screen at Michelangelo, he asked, "What're these things anyways?"  
  
"Oh, they're Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles."  
  
"Wait...what? Turtles?"  
  
"Yeah...turtles. And they can use their little pole-fighty-things and the little twirly-mabobs," she explained, moving her hands around in a failed attempt to depict the weapons.  
  
Amused by her lack of weapon knowledge, he laughed, "Ya mean a bo staff an' nunchuckus?"  
  
"Sure," she sighed. "I knew that."  
  
"Mm-hmm," he skeptically replied, rolling his eyes. Then, a loud series of bleeps were emitted from the Game Boy Tasuki was fiddling with. "What just happened?" he asked confusedly. Christina touched the side of his Game Boy, tilting it into the light so she could see the screen.  
  
Almost apologetically, she answered simply, "Umm...you died."  
  
"I died?" he questioned skeptically.  
  
"Yup. For a guy who knows everything about weapons and all, you really suck at video games," she smiled jokingly. "I'd be scared to see what you'd do with a gun!" Tasuki grinned, his fangs momentarily catching the moonlight, wondering what a gun was.  
  
Looking down at the display, he asked, "What's it doin' now?"  
  
"Oh, you get another life," she explained.  
  
"So I get t' be reincarnated too?" he wondered.  
  
She started to answer, but was interrupted by a loud, beeping tune from her own videogame that surprised her so much that she jumped and yelled, "Aakk!"  
  
"What?" he asked, startled by Christina's strange outburst.  
  
She hadn't paused her videogame while she had been talking to Tasuki, and her character had been shot by an arrow. "I died," she sighed angrily. It had taken her so long to get to that level; and she hadn't saved her game.  
  
"Is that th' sound turtles make when they die?" he asked.  
  
Christina looked at him skeptically, wondering if he was truly serious, before answering, "Only when they get slaughtered by twirly-mabobs." A frigid breeze whistled through the cold night air, biting up Christina's bare arms and raising goose bumps on her skin. "It's brrr out here!" she remarked, rubbing her arms in a futile attempt to warm herself.  
  
"What?" Tasuki asked as he turned his head, confused at her quick change of subjects and strange statement.  
  
"You know...brrr? Cold...?" she continued, wondering how anyone could not make the connection between the two words.  
  
"Oh..." he nodded, fully understanding the concept, "Do people in yer world really say that? 'Cuz that's weird."  
  
"You can't judge me, Carrot top," Christina shot back heatedly, her hands resting on her hips. She smiled winningly, sure that he wouldn't find an appropriate response for her cunning observation. Tilting her head, she smiled happily; sure that she was the victor in the particular battle of insults.  
  
"Yeah...." he slowly mumbled, trying to think of a quick comeback, "Well, what's with all those dots?"  
  
"What dots?" Christina asked confusedly.  
  
"The ones on yer face!" he laughed, pointing a finger right between her eyes.  
  
Her hands on her face in search of the aforementioned dots, she wondered, "My freckles?"  
  
"Yeah, those. What are they?"  
  
"Those would be my freckles! I'm Irish!" she rebutted heatedly; she had always been slightly touchy about her freckles. There was a long pause, as Christina had nothing else to say and Tasuki obviously, and with good reason, did not know what 'Irish' was. "So...yeah..." Christina mumbled. "It's still kinda cold..." She stared at him pointedly; too lazy to stand up herself and hoping he would get the picture. She fluttered her eyelashes jokingly as a last act of desperation.  
  
Tasuki sighed irately, feeling somewhat like a servant, "Fine, I'll go get some blankets." He then stood up and began to walk back towards Tamahome's home for the quilts he quested for. Christina stretched out, her eyes wandering around the scenery in the midst of her boredom. The cool wind floated through the leaves of the trees that bordered the dark forest, rustling the branches.  
  
Christina crossed her arms behind her head and leaned back on the cool, green grass, staring up into the indigo skies. A strange red light caught her off-guard, causing Christina to look into the gnarled branches of a dead-looking tree. As she focused her gaze, tiny scarlet orbs appeared, shining like a collection of Christmas tree lights. She sat back up, and strained her eyes to see where the red lights were coming from. Just as if she had flipped a light switch, what seemed like thousands of the crimson lights emerged, and, in the light of the red spheres, she realized that the tree was full of bats.  
  
She gasped quietly, and slowly stood up, trying not to make a sudden movement and frighten the animals. Grabbing her bag, she slowly began to tiptoe across the grass, heading away from the tree of beasts. Halfway there, a shrill, shrieking noise sounded behind her, and a mass fluttering of tiny wings beating to escape the perch on the tree followed. The bevy of bats soared towards her quickly. She dropped her bag with a scream, and, realizing that she couldn't lead them towards the house for fear of hurting Tamahome's family, ran towards the forest that bordered Tamahome's house.  
  
*  
  
"Whatcha up to?" Katherine whispered, noticing Tasuki tiptoeing past her, a large bundle of blankets in his arms.  
  
Thinking that everyone was asleep, Tasuki automatically jump and spun around in response. Seeing Tasuki's unusual response, Katherine let out a soft laugh and waved innocently. "I thought ya went t' sleep!" the startled sei greeted in a loud whisper.  
  
"I couldn't fall asleep," Katherine responded with a shrug of her shoulders, "And anyways, what happened with you and Christina?" she curiously inquired. She was secretly hoping that her friend would find the special bond with Tasuki that she had found with Hotohori.  
  
"I'm just gettin' some blan-" Tasuki started before being cut off by Christina's scream. Katherine quickly stood up from where she was sitting, knowing that her friend was in dire need of help. Tasuki grabbed his tessen, which was sticking out a heap of clothes on the table, ran to the wooden door, and threw it open to look around the yard in search of Christina.  
  
Katherine suddenly felt the warmth of hands placed on her shoulders. She spun her head around to find Hotohori standing behind her. "What happened?" he questioned, worriedly staring up at the door Tasuki had left ajar. Before Katherine could answer, another scream rang through the air. Hotohori grabbed his sword, which was leaning on the wall, and ran out the door.  
  
Katherine was about to follow but she abruptly felt a strong hand grab her wrist, preventing her to do so. She looked around again to find Nuriko and Mitsukake, who were woken up by the screams, standing next to her. Failing to struggle out of Nuriko's grip, Katherine exclaimed, "C'mon! She's in trouble!"  
  
Tightening his grip, Nuriko replied, "The last thing we need is another priestess in danger."  
  
"But...but...but-" Katherine stuttered, looking up at Nuriko innocently. Noticing that Nuriko just narrowed his eye, Katherine knew all she could do is wait.  
  
*  
  
Tasuki ran out into the yard, with Hotohori right behind him, looking around in hope of finding Christina, but there was not a single clue of where she had gotten to. The rock where they had been sitting was empty, as was the rest of the yard.  
  
"Tasuki!" Hotohori shouted, pointing at a small black bag at the foot of the forest that surrounded the village. Hotohori picked up the purse, showing it to his fellow sei. They both knew the bag belonged to Christina. Tasuki nodded as they set out into the darkened wood. He looked around on the dirt and leaf covered ground for any footprints or tell-tale signs of Christina's whereabouts.  
  
"Eww, eww, eww!" came a shriek further into the forest. Tasuki quickly turned and headed into the darkest part of the wood, towards where he had heard Christina's screams.  
  
*  
  
The bats descended upon Christina, a merciless cloud of biting, scratching, shrieking monsters. She vainly slapped them away from her face and arms, letting out little howls of pain every time they bit her with their tiny, sharp fangs. "I HATE bats!" she yelled furiously, cursing herself for having done the exact same thing that Miaka had done in the series as she unsuccessfully attempted to swat the bats away like the were insects.  
  
Another thought struck her mind, more frightening than even the bats that pursued her; Amiboshi was somewhere in the forest. As if trying to distract her, the bats swarmed closer around her. "Eww, eww, eww!" she cringed, disgusted more at the touch of the furry bodies and leathery wings than the sharp little teeth.  
  
"Get down!" a familiar voice shouted. Christina immediately obeyed; quickly dropping onto the dry, hard ground as Tasuki appeared, brandishing his tessen like a sword. "Lekka Shinen!" he yelled, and summoned forth a wall of flames that instantly incinerated the surrounding bats in an instant.  
  
He looked around lest any of the beasts had escaped his flames, and, in but a few seconds, the remaining bats had regrouped and began attacking Christina again. It was as though none of the creatures had been destroyed to begin with. "Fine! How 'bout another one?!" he shouted, "Lekka Shinen!" As more of the bats were destroyed, Hotohori appeared, his sword flashing and slashing in swift, fluid motions. "They just keep comin'!" Tasuki marveled frustratingly.  
  
Hotohori, beaten by the onslaught of bats, knelt down to shield Christina from the creatures. The warm blasts of air rippled through his hair as Tasuki continued to ineffectively char the bats.  
  
A sudden sound, so quiet and light that it was hard to hear, swelled through the air. Maddening notes were struck, piercing and high one moment then low and sonorous the next. Both Hotohori and Tasuki looked around in surprise as the bats flew around confusedly, as though abruptly blinded. The creatures flew around in a mass of chaos, into trees and one another, before feebly falling to the ground.  
  
Christina shrunk back into Hotohori's arms, as though attempting to hide herself from the flute music altogether. She felt bad for the bats, even though they had just been attacking her. The animals were now helpless and blind, completely defenseless; but there were bigger problems to think about.  
  
A short cry sounded from somewhere amongst the treetops, up in the canopy of the forest. In an instant, a man clad in all black fell out of the tree, lifeless. Christina looked away from the man, who was clearly a Kutou agent. His eyes were rolled around until they pointed at the back of his head, revealing only the whites, and on his face was an expression of nothing less than utter pain.  
  
The crunching of leaves easily caught Tasuki, Hotohori, and Christina's attention. They all looked over at a clearing near the center of the forest to see a dirty-blond haired teenage boy hobbling out into view, a simple wooden flute clutched in his fist. He looked up exhaustingly, looking as though he was using the very last of his strength merely to stand upright. Christina's eyes grew wide at the sight of Amiboshi.  
  
To Be Continued...  
  
~*~  
  
Fushigi Akugi  
  
Sung to the tune of "Joe", mentioned in Episode 18.  
  
*By the way, Joan HATED the ending to the third verse...so how 'bout this is just a lil secret between our readers and us? 'kay? 'kay.*  
  
Hi, my name is Joan. I have a blasted little sister and I'm stuck in Fushigi Akugi. One day, Diana said to me, 'Joan. Are you busy?' I said, 'No'. 'Then turn this page with your right hand'.  
  
Hi, my name's Diana. I'm the Tetsuya of this fic, and I love Nuri-chan exceedingly. One day, Nuriko came to me, I said, 'Nuriko, will you turn straight for me?' He said, 'No'.  
  
Hi, my name is Joan. I'm a fan of Suboshi and I love his 'Ryu Sei Sui'. One day, Suboshi said to me, 'Joan. Are you busy?' I said, 'No'. 'Will you have a threesome with Amiboshi and me?'  
  
Hi, my name's Diana. I'm the beta and I thought that in-between was one word. One day, the authors said to me, 'WE PROVED YOU WRONG!' I said, 'I hate the word milieu'.  
  
Hi, we are the authors. We go by Nyan Nyan and Mrs. Tasuki. One day, we got whipped cream and Dr P. With sugar, we were high sufficiently, And wrote this Fushigi Akugi. 


	21. Episode 20: Masque of Truth

AN: After the fight between Christina and Katherine, we will continue to type 'Chiriko' for Amiboshi, just to keep everything consistent.  
  
AN2: We were idiots in episode 18 and said that Diana was going to "call her parents". Well, we forgot Diana lives with her aunt! So stupid... Well, we changed it on FF.net, but for those who read the mistake, just so you know, it has been fixed and Diana DOES live with her aunt.  
  
Episode 20:  
  
Masque of Truth  
  
By: Mrs. Tasuki and Nyan Nyan  
  
Katherine impatiently waited by the window of Tamahome's house, subconsciously drumming her fingers on the wooden sill. Her hazel eyes intently observed the landscape, jumping at any sign of life. It had been only a couple minutes since Hotohori and Tasuki ran into the forest, running to Christina's aid, but those few minutes seemed like a lifetime to the priestess. Thoughts of Christina's safety and Amiboshi persistently ran through her mind, consuming every one of her thoughts like an inferno. She felt someone unexpectedly place their hand on her shoulder, causing her to jump. Mitsukake quickly removed his hand, startled by Katherine's reaction. "I'm sorry Mits, you surprised me."  
  
"That's alright," the healer replied, awkwardly tensing up and intently gazing at the floor. "You shouldn't worry so much. It's not healthy," he suggested while inadvertently scratching the back of his neck.  
  
"I guess you have point," Katherine responded with a sigh. She focused her gaze on a random point on the far wall as she started to softly snap her fingers.  
  
Uneasily, Mitsukake walked over to Katherine and lightly grasped one of her hands. "Priestess, doesn't fidgeting count as worrying?" he asked with a kind glance while he let go of her hand. Katherine let out a frustrated sigh, disappointed in herself for causing stress once again. "Try thinking about something irrelevant," he recommended as he rubbed his left temple with his index finger, trying to calm his frustration.  
  
Biting her bottom lip, Katherine whispered, "Okay..." She stood there thinking for a moment or two. She began to rock on her heels, looking at the wooden floor with a passive stare. Abruptly stopping her rocking motion, she looked up and asked, "Where's Nuriko?"  
  
"He's checking on the children, so, please, don't be troubled," the doctor warned in a low but reassuring voice.  
  
"Okey dokey then..." Katherine sighed as she turned around and started looking out the window once again.  
  
Mitsukake looked up at the ceiling for a moment and sighed, knowing that even his healing powers couldn't force tranquility in the priestess. He stood behind her, easily gazing over her head and through the window to find several silhouettes shadowed by the moonlight, moving towards them. "See? No reason to worry," he commented as he lightly placed his hand on Katherine's shoulder.  
  
Katherine was relieved in part to see three people returning, but gritted her teeth at the sight of the fourth silhouette. "Shit-taki mushrooms," Katherine muttered under her breath, inaudible to the doctor.  
  
*  
  
The old, wooden door swung open with a creak, and Christina trudged inside, followed by Hotohori and Tasuki, who were half-carrying a teenage boy with dirty-blond hair. He looked as if he was about Katherine and Christina's age, and was covered in various burns and bruises, though he had been through just about every disaster one could be submitted to in a day. Hotohori and Tasuki carefully set the boy down on one of the makeshift beds on the floor, vigilant not to touch any of his wounds. As Mitsukake walked over to check on the stranger, Christina sidled next to Katherine, who glanced at the boy, then glared daggers at her friend.  
  
Mitsukake kneeled down in front of the wounded sei, examining the injuries on the boy's body. Remembering he had used most of his powers on Tamahome's father, he let out a long, regretful sigh. "I can't heal him completely," the healer said as the injuries began to fade, "but until my powers are completely restored tomorrow, this is all I can do."  
  
Nuriko nudged Christina with his elbow and asked quietly while nodding towards the injured boy, "Who is that?"  
  
"He's..." the girl faltered, uneasy under Katherine's continuous fierce look. "He says he's Chiriko."  
  
"Oh!" Nuriko beamed, "You found the last sei?"  
  
"I guess..." Christina shrugged, her gaze fixed upon the ground in an effort to ignore her fellow priestess's glower. She cursed herself that she didn't just shout out, "He's a Seiryuu spy!" or pointed out that his Suzaku symbol tattoo looked fake. She was so close to pointing out to Hotohori or Tasuki that he wasn't Chiriko, but her pity for him had stopped her. He had looked so helpless; covered in burns and bruises, his hair tangled in a mess of twigs and leaves. But yet she hated him; hated him for lying to them, despised him for what he was planning to do.  
  
"This is great!" Nuriko continued, too happy to notice Christina and Katherine's less than cheerful behavior.  
  
Mitsukake carefully stood up, holding onto the back of a chair for assistance, and announced that the boy was sleeping, and would be fine by morning. The rest of the seishi retired to their respective cots, and fell asleep quickly, glad that the last sei had finally been found.  
  
*  
  
Katherine lay patiently on her cot, quietly waiting for everyone to fall asleep. After what seemed to be a half an hour she quietly stood up and lightly tapped Christina with her foot. Knowing that Katherine would drag her outside for another chat, Christina rolled over on her side and muttered, "Yeah...yeah...I'm awake."  
  
"Good. C'mon let's go somewhere where no one will hear," Katherine responded in a low voice as she tiptoed towards the door.  
  
Christina sat straight up, realizing where Katherine was heading. In a quivering voice, she asked, "You don't mean out there...do you?"  
  
Katherine turned around and crossed her arms, glaring at her friend. "Where else do you suppose we go?" she asked, raising one eyebrow and softly tapping her foot.  
  
"I...I dunno..." Christina mumbled as cautiously followed Katherine out the door. Once outside, and, feeling rather childish for her fear, she cautiously looked around for evil flying creatures before sitting down on the soft ground. While yawning, she asked, "Haven't you ever heard of something called sleep?"  
  
"Well, I dunno, I haven't experienced it lately 'cause I'm too busy trying to fix everything you screw up," Katherine sarcastically replied, sitting across from the other priestess.  
  
Quickly standing by up and stomping her foot, Christina hollered, "Hey! That was totally and completely uncalled for! ...You know Katherine, you're really starting to get on my nerves."  
  
Katherine's jaw slightly dropped as she furrowed her eyebrows in anger. "Well, sor-ry! Somebody needs to figure out what the hell we are doing! And pardon me for being a bit angry right now, but I think I have a right to be," she disdainfully answered while crossing her arms  
  
"Okay, fine. Tomorrow we'll tell everyone that Chiriko is Amiboshi." Christina heartlessly concluded, trying to avoid a fight with her friend. "'Kay? 'Kay," she continued, quickly answering herself before Katherine could.  
  
Raising her eyebrows in shock, Katherine exclaimed, "No, we can't do that!"  
  
Letting out a long agitated sigh, she asked, "What now?!"  
  
"Well, think about it!" Katherine opposed as she stood up. Then taking in a deep breath and lowering her voice to a whisper, she continued to explain, "Amiboshi never really wanted to ruin the ceremony. I mean, if he backed down then Nakago probably would kill Suboshi out of vengeance. We can't blame him for Nakago forcing him to be in this situation. Plus, if we rat out on him, he'll probably be executed!"  
  
Remembering that Katherine had always shown sympathy for Amiboshi, Christina let out a frustrated sigh. "Okay, fine. But what are we supposed to do then?" she asked, knowing that nothing she said would change her friend's mind.  
  
"I think we should give him a chance," Katherine simply stated.  
  
Not believing her ears, Christina shouted, "What?!"  
  
"Well, if we are nice enough to Amiboshi maybe he'll come clean without us forcing him to. It's worth a shot," she continued with a shrug of her shoulders.  
  
"Fine, whatever," Christina mumbled as she rolled her eyes, not believing Katherine's hypocrisy. "But if your idea doesn't work we're doing it my way. You're not gonna blame anything on me anymore," she coldly stated as she stood up and walked into the house, leaving Katherine stranded. Katherine laid back into the soft grass, gazing up at the stars. Letting out a long sigh, Christina's words ran through her mind as she replayed the scene in her head.  
  
*  
  
Christina stomped into the cottage and slammed the door shut out of anger. Remembering that everyone was sound asleep, she quickly glanced around the room to make sure she didn't wake anyone up. Finding the room in the same condition it was a couple minutes earlier, she let out a long sigh of relief. She tiptoed past Tasuki and Mitsukake and slid into her cot, completely oblivious of the lavender pair of eyes watching her.  
  
Leaning under the slightly cracked window, Nuriko let out a sigh of relief, glad to not be discovered. Words of Christina's and Katherine's previous conversation ran though the sei's mind as he leaned his head against the wall and looked up at the ceiling.  
  
*  
  
"Hello? Aunt Claire" Diana questioned into the phone meekly.  
  
"Yes, Diana?" replied in an unclear, phone-speaker blurred voice.  
  
"I uh..." Diana mumbled, her hands fidgeting and twisting the gray phone cord. "I wanted to know if I could have Joan over tonight..."  
  
"Well, I..." her aunt started to answer.  
  
Unsuccessfully trying to force herself to sound nonchalant, Diana continued, "We really need to work on this project for...for Social Studies."  
  
"It's fine by me."  
  
"Thanks!" Diana smiled, "We'll be over soon!" Diana let out a long sigh of relief as she slammed the phone down in its receiver.  
  
"I'll go pack my stuff," Joan piped in.  
  
"Good, and hurry it up!" Diana shouted up the stairs as Joan ran up to her room. Diana sat back down on the couch and leafed through the pages of The Universe of the Four Gods until she had found where she had left off. She had only begun to read when Joan tramped back down the stairs, her huge duffel bag hanging off her shoulder. Joan and Diana walked outside to the driveway and quickly hopped into Diana's yellow 1999 Pontiac Grand Am, heading for Aunt Claire's house to discuss The Universe of the Four Gods in privacy.  
  
*  
  
Inside Tamahome's house, Katherine looked over at Chiriko, who was sitting in a chair playing scales on his flute. She stealthily walked over, hoping to not be noticed. Once she was a couple feet away from the sei she asked a sing-song voice while innocently looking up at the ceiling, "Chiriko?"  
  
Startled, Chiriko whipped his head around and found the priestess nervously rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet. "Yes, Priestess?" he shakily asked, trying to calm himself.  
  
"Awww...don't be silly. Call me Katherine," she humbly said with a slight wave of the hand. "Anyways, I was wondering if..." she suddenly stopped, unsure if she should continue her sentence. She looked up to find Chiriko slowly nodding his head, motioning her to continue. "If...I could play your flute?" she rapidly asked, running all her words together.  
  
Chiriko looked at her cautiously, tightening his grasp on the flute. "W- Why?" he stammered, nervously biting his lip.  
  
"Well...it's just that...I learned how to play the flute several years ago, and I wanna see what it's like playing a flute like yours. All the flutes in my world are made out of metal," she explained, looking innocent as possible.  
  
*  
  
Hotohori and Tasuki stood next to the two horses, placing the bags on their saddles. Trying to find some common ground between Hotohori and himself, Tasuki asked, "So, what's goin' on between you an' that Katherine girl?"  
  
Hotohori slowly turned his head and looked at Tasuki questionably. "May I ask you to clarify what you mean by that?" he responded, still trying to process what the bandit had said previously.  
  
"Well, ya two acted like ya were a couple an' stuff when we found Mitsukake, but, then, after that...nothin'. I mean, yer lettin' her call all th' shots," Tasuki explained with a shrug of his shoulders. "If I liked girls, I'd make sure she knew who was boss. As leader of th' bandits, I'd have complete control over her. But ya never had control over anythin', have ya?" he rhetorically asked, arrogant in himself for knowing how to be in command.  
  
Christina, who had overheard Tasuki's last couple sentences, decided she would have to save him from any further embarrassment. She tiptoed up to Hotohori and lightly tapped him on the shoulder, hoping to get the emperor's focus off of Tasuki. "Hotohori?" she naively asked in the same sing-song voice Katherine had just used on Chiriko.  
  
Hotohori looked behind his shoulder to find the priestess swaying back and forth and inadvertently playing with her hands. "Yes, Christina?" he asked, trying not to sound irritated by Tasuki's comments.  
  
Christina started to scratch the back of her neck as she continued in a meek voice, "Well, you see, I have this really, really good idea...can we have a party for finding all the seishi?"  
  
Taking Christina's party idea into deep consideration, Hotohori let out a long, soft sigh.  
  
Before Hotohori could ask Christina all the details, Tasuki quickly gave his opinion on the suggestion. "I LOVE that idea!" he exclaimed, his face beaming with excitement.  
  
The emperor glared at the bandit for a second, then reasonably asked Christina, "Where would we have it?"  
  
Slyly smiling, Christina answered, "At your place, of course!"  
  
Interrupting Hotohori's thoughts once again, Tasuki stated, "Sounds good t' me. Wait, ya' don't live in a shack, do ya?" he asked, turning towards Hotohori, oblivious to the sei's profession.  
  
The sound of a door opening and the abrupt movement of someone caught everyone's eye. "Look at me! Look at me!" Katherine exclaimed, interrupting the trio's conversation. She rushed over to where they were standing and eagerly declared, "I can play the flute!" She then brought Chiriko's wooden flute to her lips and let out a long soft note.  
  
"Katherine! Would you stop for a sec?!" Christina shouted, not wanting anyone to interrupt her careful persuading of the emperor. "We are trying to talk over here," she informed while waving her friend to come join the dispute, knowing that Katherine would be on her side.  
  
Katherine skipped over and abruptly jumped into place next to Tasuki. "So what's up?" she cheerfully asked, but before anyone could answer someone else came barging outside.  
  
"Hey! Come back here! That's mine!" Chiriko yelled as he pointed at the flute and ran towards the priestess.  
  
"Okay, okay. Don't have a cow..." Katherine relented, handing over the flute to its rightful owner. "It's not like I was gonna hurt anyone with it," she stated, completely oblivious to the pun that abuse was the true purpose of the wooden instrument.  
  
"Okay! Everyone done interrupting us?!" Christina exclaimed, before the conversation drew too far away from the heated debate she was having with her seishi. Suddenly softening her expression, the priestess turn to Hotohori and begged, "Please? You know you know you want to."  
  
Lowering her head and turning away from the seishi, Katherine mumbled, "What are you talking about?"  
  
"A party," Christina whispered out of the side of her mouth.  
  
"Ohhh," Katherine breathed, merrily jumping back into place. Suddenly changing her tone, Katherine pleaded "C'mon Hotohori! It will be fun!"  
  
"I suppose..." Hotohori relented, followed by Katherine and Christina jumping for joy.  
  
Abruptly stopping the joyous skipping, Katherine looked over at Christina and bit her lip. "By the way, I'm sorry about last night," she mumbled, referring to the fight they had over Chiriko.  
  
Raising her eyebrows, Christina looked at her friend oddly for a second. "Whatever," she quickly said, then quickly changed her attention towards her seishi.  
  
Katherine rolled her eyes and let out a long sigh. Turning away from the group, she walked over to the side of the house and leaned against it. She heard the rustling of grass and looked up to find Chiriko standing a few feet away. "Hey," she mumbled as she moved down a bit, subconsciously telling him to come join her.  
  
The sei slowly walked over and awkwardly leaned against the house and turned towards her. Seeing the troubled look on the priestess's face, Chiriko realized something was bothering her. "Would you like me to play you a song?" he innocently asked while fiddling around the flute.  
  
"Nah, that's okay," Katherine mumbled, knowing that Amiboshi used his music to subconsciously weaken people's chi. "Christina has just been getting on my nerves lately," she explained, afterwards biting her bottom lip.  
  
"I understand," Chiriko sighed, placing the flute in his belt.  
  
Katherine looked at him for a second before saying, "I'm really sorry, but no you don't. You only met us last night. Christina has been hiding her emotions this whole entire time. I'm tired of her always expecting me to interpret what's goin' on inside her mind. I'm not a freakin' mind reader for a reason!" she exclaimed, letting her head fall back against the house. After a second she looked over at Chiriko, who was nervously scratching his left arm. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything..." she apologized, remorseful for making him so uneasy.  
  
"It's okay, it sounds like you needed to tell someone. Maybe I should talk to her," he offered, hoping to stop the small feud between the priestess.  
  
"No! Don't do that!" Katherine quickly shouted, knowing that the last person Christina wanted to talk to was Chiriko. "Please, just don't. I handle it in my own way," she continued, softening her tone.  
  
"O...kay..." Chiriko answered, slightly startled by her initial reaction. "Just don't keep it all bottled up, or else you will be doing the same thing to her that she has been doing to you," he advised. Turning away from her, he continued back towards the seishi, who were still conversing about the party.  
  
"'Kay!" Katherine called out, but she decided stay behind, needing to continue contemplating on her friendship with Christina.  
  
*  
  
Miaka watched over Tamahome, silently praying for him to open his blue eyes once more. She damped the small white cloth, now stained red, into the small basin of water. She continued to absently twist the excess water out of the cloth, her eyes never leaving the face of her love. The priestess tenderly placed the cold cloth on his cheek, and Tamahome flinched suddenly in response. Miaka quickly drew back her hand, startled at the sudden movement. Tamahome had been lying lifelessly on the bed for such an extended amount of time that Miaka had almost given up all hope. "Tamahome?" she asked uneasily, quietly pleading for any type of response. Her heart skipped a beat as the sei's eyes slowly opened, showing the calm blue sparkle she had been longing to see.  
  
"Where am I?" Tamahome wondered as his eyes wondered around the room. He had the inclination to sit up, and attempted to do so, but once he started to move a surge of pain came rushing through his body.  
  
"Don't move!" Miaka exclaimed, eyes widening in fear. "You've been asleep for five days," she explained with a gentle voice.  
  
Tamahome slowly lay back down, with help from Miaka, and looked up at the priestess's innocent eyes. "Have you been watching over me the whole time?" he asked his voice husky with pain.  
  
"Of course I have," she whispered, placing the cloth in the basin of water once more. "I never want to lose you," the priestess continued as she dabbed the wet cloth over the forehead of the sei, her potential enemy.  
  
*  
  
The Suzaku seishi was sitting in a large, slightly run-down restaurant. They had to move two tables together in order for everyone to sit together. Christina made sure that she was sitting next to Tasuki, and Katherine, of course, was sitting next to Hotohori. Nuriko was talking about how they should go about getting Tamahome back, causing Katherine and Christina to tune him out, since they already knew that Chichiri was fated to take care of that.  
  
Christina took her chopsticks and started banging them on the table, pretending she was an expert drummer. After a couple minutes of the irksome tapping, Katherine couldn't take it any longer. "Would you please just stop?" Katherine asked through her teeth. "You need to learn how to focus. Ya know...fo-cus?" she continued, even though she wasn't paying attention to Nuriko either.  
  
"Did you say 'fuck us'?" Christina curiously asked in a slightly strident voice, misinterpreting her friend's words. All of the sudden, everyone in the establishment was looking at the two of them, unsure if they had just heard Christina correctly. The seishi just stared in complete shock, unsure of what to say.  
  
Not knowing how to reply, Katherine just let her head fall against the table, wishing she had not just heard that. "You may continue about our situation," she calmly said to her seishi, waving them on, with her head still on the table, hoping to avoid dwelling on Christina's comment. She glanced over to the side and aimlessly watched middle-aged men walk by their table and sit at the table behind Hotohori and herself. Gradually, their conversation caught Katherine's interest, causing her to pick up her head and listen carefully.  
  
"The government today has gotten completely out of control," the first man said.  
  
"I wonder if the people at the capital even know what they are doing!" the second man added.  
  
This caused Katherine to abruptly grab a hold of Hotohori's hand, unsure if he had heard the insulting comment too. She looked around her table; no one else seemed to notice the conversation going on behind them. She then noticed Hotohori was looking at her, wondering what caused her to suddenly grab his hand. His distraction from his fellow seishi's discussion caused him to hear the conversation happening behind him.  
  
"They aren't even doin' anything about th' situation with Kutou!" the first man continued as Katherine squeezed Hotohori's hand tighter. "They are just sitting in the lap of luxury without a worry in the world!"  
  
"Shhhh!" the other man ordered. "If anyone hears us we could be executed." Hotohori slightly winced in response to the man's fear of the government.  
  
"I don't care anymore! I'm tired of being a servant to that idiot, naïve boy of an emperor." Slowly moving a strand of hair out of his face, Hotohori set his gaze on a random point on the dusty floor, mentally recalling the mistakes he had made in his reign. A waiter then approached the pair's table to take their order, causing them to drop the subject for a moment or two.  
  
"It's okay..." Katherine whispered to Hotohori, subconsciously trying to calm herself.  
  
Christina then noticed Katherine's behavior, and recognized it as a common danger sign. Katherine was staring intently at the table and using her free hand to vigorously play with her hair. "Uh oh..." Christina mumbled.  
  
"What?" Chiriko innocently asked.  
  
"Katherine's becoming angry, and she doesn't hold her anger very well," Christina stated, just waiting for Katherine to explode. She had no idea what had made Katherine so irate, but she knew Katherine well enough to know that it must have been something huge.  
  
This statement grabbed everyone else's attention. "Katherine...becoming angry? I'm sorry, but I just can't seem to picture that," Tasuki commented as he started to laugh, imagining the usually calm Katherine filled with rage.  
  
"She seems to be hiding it kind of well," Nuriko mentioned optimistically.  
  
"Watch...just watch," Christina muttered.  
  
The waiter then left the table behind them, and the two men continued their conversation. "I honestly wonder how this empire has lasted so long with under that fool's control," the first man stated. This time it was loud enough for everyone at the other table to hear.  
  
Hotohori looked at the floor, disappointed in himself. He had no idea people thought such things of him. He had tried his hardest, but maybe they were right. Maybe he could have done more. Suddenly, the awful, barren atmosphere of Tamahome's village appeared in his thoughts. How Tamahome had to become obsessed with making money in order to put food on the table for his siblings. How the situation in Kutou could have been resolved if only he had planned more and was more experienced. And lastly, how he was depending on the priestesses, his love, to risk their lives to save his empire, an empire that should have been safe all along.  
  
When Katherine noticed the disappointed look in Hotohori's eyes she let go of his hand and calmly stood up. "Please, excuse me for one moment," she said in an upbeat, plastic voice.  
  
"Katherine...don't," Hotohori warned. He didn't want her to make the situation worse than it already was, but Katherine just ignored him.  
  
As she approached the table, she took in a deep breath, trying to hold her anger for a moment. "Um... excuse me," she greeted innocently. "I'm sorry, but I couldn't help overhearing part of your conversation."  
  
The two men looked up at her realizing that she was talking to them. They stared in distaste noticing her immodest tank top and denim shorts. "And?" the second man asked with a sneer.  
  
"Aaaaand...would you like my opinion on your comments?" she asked in a meek voice.  
  
"No...not really...like some slut's opinion matters," the first man answered, hoping that this would shut the annoyance up. Katherine bit her bottom lip and glared at the man. Hotohori was about to stand up and give the two men a piece of his mind about calling Katherine, the Priestess of Suzaku, a slut, but then he realized that Katherine had complete control of this situation.  
  
"Oh... well this 'slut's' does," she snapped, punctuating her statement by punching him in the face, sending him sprawling to the floor. She then stepped on the man's stomach and let all her rage flow out of her. "Just so you know, THAT FOOL does more for this country than you could EVER imagine!!! He gives up his love for this empire! Next time you see him why don't you ask him how much free time he has?!?! And you know what his answer will be...? NONE!!!" she hollered at the man, but she wasn't done yet. Katherine needed to vent, and she quite good at it. "He's been through more than any person should ever have to go through!!! He does SO much more than sit on his ass and order people around! He would give anything for the people of his empire!" She then turned her attention to the second man, who was looking at her completely shocked. "Oh and, by the way, he would never execute any one for sharing their opinion, good or bad. And if it was bad he would try even harder to do his job better," she simply stated, lowing her voice. She then stepped off of the first man's stomach and headed back towards her table. "C'mon, let's go," she said serenely, shaking out the pain in her punching hand and walking towards the doorway.  
  
"Wow," Tasuki commented, shocked.  
  
"What's her problem?" Chiriko asked, still not knowing what her motivation was.  
  
Pushing in her chair to follow Katherine hoping the others would follow, Christina stated, "Lemme just put it this way, Katherine LOVES the government system in this country."  
  
*  
  
"Daaaaaa..." Chichiri sighed as he skillfully balanced on his super deformed head on Hotohori's throne. "When are they coming back, no da?" he complained, letting out a long yawn afterwards.  
  
"Your Majesty!" an elderly advisor interrupted, unsure if that super deformed creature was really 'his highness' doing aerobics in his office.  
  
Suddenly sitting upright and returning to Hotohori's normal form, Chichiri asked in a low, professional voice, "What do you require?"  
  
Taking a moment to clear his throat, the advisor continued, "The Priestesses of Suzaku have returned with the celestial warriors." The scholar had barely finished his sentence before the monk zoomed past him.  
  
*  
  
The familiar skyline of the Konan Empire loomed off in the distance, far away from the hustle and bustle of the capital city itself; it seemed almost a private oasis in a desert of commotion. The palace seemed even more splendid than usual, mostly because the travelers had spent the last few weeks on tiring, dusty roads, but still, the gold gleamed in such an inviting way that the seishi and priestesses couldn't help but sigh with relief. The gates were opened, and the group trotted in, suddenly feeling more awake and energetic than they had while traveling.  
  
"Wow, I can't believe I'm in a palace," Chiriko stated as he looked around in awe.  
  
Abruptly, a large mass of light blue hear and a smiling face appeared before the group, startling the three naive seishi. "Wha' th' hell izzat?!" Tasuki shouted, pointing the figure and growling angrily at the unknown subject.  
  
"That's Chichiri, a celestial warrior, who hasn't changed a bit!" Nuriko explained, slightly giggling at the bandit's reaction to the rather odd monk.  
  
Noticing that one of the seishi seemed to disappear, Chiriko commented, "Where'd Hotohori go?"  
  
"Yeah, y' look up, an' suddenly he's gone!" Tasuki exclaimed, not liking mysterious surprises.  
  
Turning to her seishi, Christina exclaimed, "Aw, c'mon! Think about it! Hasn't Hotohori ever seemed a bit...proper to ya? Dude, he even rode a white horse. White horse...nobility. Nobility...white horse. White horse..." Noticing the confused expressions on their faces, she knew she was getting nowhere with the three newcomers, so she decided to let Nuriko explain it to them.  
  
The former courtier let out a long agitated sigh at his comrades' stupidity. "Don't you guys get it yet?! He's-"he started to explain, but was soon cut short by the emperor himself, who reappeared at Nuriko's side.  
  
"Please Nuriko," Hotohori calmly stated, readjusting the collar on his imperial robes.  
  
Katherine took one look at the new outfit Hotohori had rapidly changed into and let out a sad whimper. "Dear God, the hat returns..." she muttered to her self, letting out a long sigh and sorrowfully shaking her head.  
  
Slightly bowing, Chichiri smiled, happy to be out of its uncomfortable robes, "Your majesty! Your kingdom rejoices on the occasion of your safe return."  
  
Tasuki's eyes widened in shock, finally realizing, "Y-yer MAJESTY?!" rang through the palace walls.  
  
To Be Continued...  
  
AN3: You may be wondering why Nuriko has kept quiet about the lil secret and are about to review us telling us that he wouldn't do that. Well, please wait until the next episode.  
  
~*~  
  
FUSHIGI AKUGI  
  
The Crucible: Fushigi Yuugi Style  
  
AN: If you haven't read the Crucible, then you definitely don't want to read this Fushigi Akugi. Mrs. Tasuki read the part of Abigail in English class, while Nyan Nyan read out Mrs. Putnam. We were trying to work on the fic, but it was too much fun. And Nyan Nyan accidentally wrote 'Joan' instead of 'John' (Proctor). We had way too much Dr. Pepper and got a little crazy. Read at your own mental risk.  
  
Christina/Abigail: We sweated like stallions behind the barn.  
  
Joan Proctor: Whore! I call out whore in your name!  
  
C/A: You love me still...Joan Procter.  
  
Joan: I will cut off my hand before reach for you again.  
  
C/A: Ow...That would hurt.  
  
Joan: I know...that's why I'm gonna make out with you right now.  
  
C/A: Joan...ever since you've found that book, I know you've been feeling something.  
  
Joan: Shut up and follow me to that barn. I'm going to punish you.  
  
C/A: Go to it.  
  
Katherine/Mrs. Putnam: Christina I never knew...now we can actually be sisters!!!  
  
C/A: My name is Abigail, GODAMMNIT!  
  
K/Mrs. P.: (To Hotohori/Mr. Putnam) Are you ready, Mr. Putnam, to make another baby?  
  
Nuriko: I am Goody Osburne, and I will kill your children! They will wither in your arms!  
  
Mrs. P: Oh well, we can always make more.  
  
Abigail: Mrs. Putnam! Why are you a red bird! Stop attacking me!  
  
Chiriko/Mary Warren: I don't see a bird!  
  
Abigail: I don't see a bird! Mary Warren! Stop sending your spirit into me! Everything you say your spirit is making me repeat!  
  
Joan Proctor: I want that feisty spirit of yours!  
  
Abigail: I want that feisty spirit of yours!  
  
Mary Warren: You're supposed to mock me, not her.  
  
Abigail: You're supposed to mock me, not her.  
  
Mary Warren: Hey where did the Putnams go?  
  
Abigail: Behind the barn. 


	22. Episode 21: Exposed Deceptions

A/N: Sorry this one took so long everyone, but it was REALLY long! On another note, fanfiction.net isn't reading the little star things, which is what we used to use for scene changes. Hopefully we'll find another way to fix it or something, but until then,  
oOo is going to have to be the scene/character viewpoint/time change thing. SO, without further ado...Episode 21!

Episode 21  
Exposed Deceptions  
By: Nyan Nyan and Mrs. Tasuki  
  
A yellow car sped down the newly-tarred road, kicking up loose pieces of gravel as it went. The road was, for lack of a better word, deserted. Although it was still light outside, no inhabitants of the neighborhood were in sight. The eerie calm made it seem as though a curfew had been placed, turning the whole area into a ghost town.  
  
"This isn't Dukes of Hazard!" Joan warned Diana, whose foot had nearly floored the accelerator. Ignoring her friend, Diana kept her eyes glued to the empty road in front of her. The inside of the car, like the neighborhood that it raced through, was soundless and dead. Until Joan's unheeded warning, the two girls had been sitting in complete and utter silence. Breaking the hush yet again, Joan timidly whispered, "Diana?"  
  
Diana exploded, "What?!" Joan answered by tapping the rearview mirror, and Diana's jaw dropped as she spotted the red and blue flashing lights in the reflection. A siren's cry began to creep into the car, as if the mute on a television had been turned off. Joan was practically hyperventilating, her eyes bulging out of their sockets. Diana slowed the car and stopped at the side of the forsaken road. She took a deep breath and grabbed her purse from the backseat, praying that her driver's license would be inside.  
  
An officer who looked in his mid-thirties sauntered up to the side of the car and gestured for Diana to roll the window down, which she quickly did. "Is there a problem, officer?" Diana asked in the best rendition of a sultry voice she could summon in her state of nervousness.  
  
"Well, miss, you were going about forty, that's fifteen miles above the speed limit, in a residential area. License, please?"  
  
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" gasped Diana as she rummaged through her purse and handed him her license. "I was just in such a hurry and I didn't notice! You see, we had borrowed some books from the library...that we read...at the nursing home up near town, and we had to return them before the library closed," she lied. Joan held up The Universe of the Four Gods in an attempt to verify the explanation.  
  
The officer sighed heavily, "Well...I'm not supposed to do this...but I'll let you off with a warning. This time." He raised his eyebrows questioningly at the girls, who both quickly nodded in acknowledgment.  
  
"Thank you, sir," Diana smiled.  
  
"It'll never happen again," swore Joan as the policeman walked back to his squad car. The car pulled out and drove down the road, and Diana let her head fall down onto the steering wheel with relief. "I told you!" Joan yelled accusingly.  
  
"Just...just shut up and read the book. I'll do the driving, okay?" Diana sighed.  
  
"But..." Joan objected, "but I get carsick when I read!"

oOo

Katherine heavily sat down upon her bed and leaned back into the mass of fluffy, red and white pillows, pleased to be back at the palace. She let herself slip further into the cushions, her wavy, golden hair fanned out beneath her. Too lethargic to move her head, Katherine's hazel eyes wandered around the room, remembering where she had left everything. She started to close her eyelids, hoping her mind would drift to more peaceful thoughts, like the times before her adventures in Konan had begun.  
  
She licked her lips hungrily, wishing that she could have a cheeseburger or a slice of pizza. Anything would do, really, just as long as it wasn't Chinese food. The constant stream of rice and egg rolls that were eaten for every meal had begun to make the girl sick to her stomach. She had just started imagining all the Italian food that she would sell her soul for when she heard a faint knocking at her door. The priestess slowly sat up, leaning on her elbows for support, and asked, "Who is it?"  
  
"It's Nuriko," a soft voice answered through the door.  
  
Quickly standing up and brushing the wrinkles out of her jeans, Katherine cheerfully replied, "Oh! C'mon in! You know you don't have to knock!" She skipped to the door, opened it, and jogged back over to her bed, never noticing the serious look on the lavender-eyed sei's face. Nuriko was wearing his courtier outfit once again, hiding his sexuality from the other inhabitants of the palace with expensive frills and cloth. "So, what's up?" Katherine asked, her head playfully tilted to the side.  
  
Nuriko quietly closed the door, and walked a few steps forward before accusing her: "You both think we're stupid, don't you?"  
  
Katherine's smile immediately disappeared from her face, and her eyebrows narrowed as she tried to comprehend what her sei had just said. "What do you mean?"  
  
Hardening his stare, Nuriko let out a short, agitated sigh. His voice was still in a strangely firm tone that didn't seem to suit him. "You and Christina have obviously been hiding something, and I am tired of listening to your lies," he explained angrily, putting a prominent emphasis on the word 'obviously'. His mouth was twisted into a scowl, and his eyes flashed with the pain of someone who had been betrayed.  
  
Katherine's heart skipped a beat and jumped into her throat as her eyes widened. As her breathing quickened, a dizzying onslaught of thoughts paraded through her mind. "Why is he asking this now? Why isn't Christina here? How am I supposed to answer? Why is he only asking me?" The room spun, and Katherine opened her mouth, hoping her words would form themselves into an explanation, but the sound didn't come. Nuriko glared at his priestess, his hands on his hips. "Lemme go get Christina," Katherine stammered softly, knowing that she could not come up with a good enough answer on her own.  
  
"No," Nuriko answered determinedly. "Christina can easily make up an excuse; maybe not a very good one, but still an excuse. And I want the truth...now!' he demanded. The priestess felt as though she was shrinking under Nuriko's glare; she felt like she had betrayed him, which, she realized, she had.  
  
Becoming angrier at Nuriko and herself, the priestess quickly stood up and stomped her foot. "Look! I can't tell you alone, okay?!"  
  
Moving closer to the priestess, only a mere inch from her face, he sarcastically replied with a tilt of his head, "Why not? You have a voice, don't you?"  
  
"This is more complicated than it seems," boldly stated Katherine, finishing her statement through tightly-gritted teeth.  
  
Lowering his voice to a soft whisper, Nuriko asked as calmly as possible, "Just tell me, who is Amiboshi, really?"  
  
Katherine's heart, which had been beating impossibly fast, stopped. Her stomach felt as thought it had filled with lead. She stumbled back a step, asking, "H-how do you know? A-about that?"  
  
Nuriko was stunned. Not only had the priestesses kept a secret from him and the rest of the seishi, but they also thought that he was too ignorant to figure out they were lying to him. Insulted and hurt, he shouted, "I'm not deaf! I heard you two fighting about him the other night!"  
  
"W-well, now we definitely need Christina here. We can't leave her out of this," Katherine stammered as she walked past Nuriko and towards the door.  
  
Turning his head in Katherine's direction as she passed, the sei asked innocently, "Well, if Christina's going to be here, why don't we get Hotohori too? After all, you two are a couple." Nuriko couldn't believe that the priestess who had supposedly come to save his homeland couldn't handle one fight one her own.  
  
The priestess automatically stopped in her tracks, and whipped around to face Nuriko's reflection in the mirror that stood on the other side of the room. Nuriko was rooted to the floor of Katherine's room, simply looking up at the ceiling with false naivete. Katherine hated him at that moment, from his flashing purple eyes to the sneer that covered his face. "What does that have to do with anything?!" she hollered, wishing he would just disappear. "Oh, I get it," Katherine whispered, "You're just pissed off because Hotohori likes me."  
  
Nuriko spun around to find Katherine standing proudly, her head cocked and a small sneer on her face. "That's not it at all!" Nuriko defended. Katherine's face broke into a grin as she began to pace around the sei accusingly.  
  
"Suuure it's not," leered Katherine. "Why else would you single me out, when there are two of us keeping the secret?" she questioned arrogantly, waiting for a reply to her comeback. She watched as Nuriko's eyes narrowed angrily, his teeth gritted to hold back tears of anger.  
  
Not believing that Katherine was so ignorant about his feelings, Nuriko hollered, "Shut up!" He felt as though someone had ripped out his heart and stepped on it. He shook his head, yelling, "You don't know what you're talking about!"  
  
Katherine decided to take her accusation further, knowing that she was already the victor. "I was wondering why you weren't acting jealous, and now the truth comes out! You've been jealous of us the whole time!"  
  
"I was supposed to be the one to marry him!" Nuriko shouted as he tightly clenched his fists. Crescent marks appeared on his palms as he tightened his grip, his nails drawing drops of crimson blood onto his ivory skin. "Everyone turned against me, because they knew I would be chosen! And then you came waltzing in here and just stole him away!" he hollered, hot tears streaming down his cheeks and spotting the delicate fabric of his shirt. Nuriko's seishi symbol burned a bright red through the pink cloth of his collar, burning like his heart was aflame with anger.  
  
Katherine stepped back, looking at her sei through wide, frightened eyes. She had never known how passionately Nuriko had felt about Hotohori. She had always thought that it was more of an infatuation than actual love. "Look, Nuriko, I'm so-"  
  
"I don't want to hear it," Nuriko interrupted, his voice strangely calm. He walked to the door and opened it, smearing the brown wood with crimson. "Sometimes I even wonder if he loves you as much as you think he does," Nuriko muttered as he proudly walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him. Katherine walked to the door, wondering whether she should follow him or not. The priestess took her hand off of the wood and walked back to her bed. She sat down, her own hands leaving tiny spots of Nuriko's blood on the covers.

oOo

Hotohori walked down the palace hallway, reading a scroll that contained the most recent news he had missed while he had been travelling with the priestesses. Having the corridors memorized, he slowly turned a corner without looking up from the characters in front of him. Suddenly, a shoulder pushed into his elbow, throwing him off balance. The emperor placed his left hand on the wall, trying to prevent himself from falling. Once he had caught his balance, he glanced down the hall to see who had run into him. His deep golden eyes widened in shock to find purple hair trailing behind the person as they continued to run. "Nuriko?" he whispered, wondering why the sei was in such a rush.  
  
He bent down and picked up the end up the scroll, which had fallen out of his hand when he had grabbed the wall for balance. Rolling up the dust- covered paper, he realized he was close to Katherine's room. He knew she hadn't been getting much sleep as of late, and decided to see how she was feeling. He softly knocked upon her door and took off his crown, knowing how much she despised it. His long, brown hair fell to his shoulders as he lifted that square-shaped hat off of his head. "Katherine, are you in there?" he asked. The door opened slowly, and the smile that had previously graced his face disappeared as he saw Katherine rubbing her eyes, as if she had been crying. "What hap-"  
  
"Nothing. I'm fine, it's just my contacts," Katherine quickly lied, knowing that a chain of unwanted questions would have come if she had told the truth. Before he could ask what 'contacts' were, she softly said, "C'mon in," as she moved out of the way and walked towards her bed.  
  
Looking around the cluttered room, Hotohori had no choice but to follow. Katherine sat down on her bed, bending down to hang her head between her legs, her hands on top of her neck, waiting for the blood to flow to her head, hoping the pain would take her mind off of the fight she and Nuriko had just had. Sitting next to her, Hotohori asked, "Are you sure you're alright?"  
  
"Yeah," she lied, "I just have a headache."  
  
"Perhaps you should rest," Hotohori suggested, bending down to look into her face. Katherine turned her head and saw him give her a reassuring smile. She smiled in return as she sat up and stretched her arms. Leaning back, he placed his arm around her as she leaned into his chest. He lovingly pushed a strand of hair out of her face and held her closely to his heart, stroking her hair in hopes to bring her comfort.  
  
After a while, Katherine looked up at Hotohori, biting her bottom lip with uncertainty, recalling what Nuriko had said before he left. "Sometimes I even wonder if he loves you as much as you think he does..." Nuriko's warning echoed in Katherine's mind. "Hotohori, you love me, right?" Katherine asked uneasily, searching his deep, golden eyes for an answer.  
  
Hotohori's hand immediately stopped on the back off Katherine's head. He gave her a perplexed look, wondering what he could have done to make her think such a thing. "I've loved you from the first moment I saw you," he whispered, still taken aback from her question.  
  
Chills ran down Katherine's spine as she recalled him saying the exact same sentence to Miaka. She abruptly sat up, grabbing her sides in an attempt to stop shaking. Hotohori lightly touched her shoulder, causing her to tense up even more. She quickly turned towards him, moving her hand away, and whispered, "Sometimes I think we were both so caught up in our fantasies that we never took the time to get to know each other. I mean, I envy Christina and Tasuki 'cause they're actually getting to know each other. I swear, it's like they're going through a flirting stage or...or something!" she exclaimed, looking at him with pleading eyes.  
  
"I thought Tasuki didn't like women..." Hotohori assumed, remembering what the bandit had said so many times. Not to mention he could recall many times when Christina had grumbled about men when they were traveling. The two were friends, but Hotohori was quite sure that was only because Christina acted more like a boy than Nuriko did. Hotohori guessed Katherine was just using the first two people she thought of as an example; it didn't make sense otherwise.  
  
"That's beside the point!" Katherine said. She so desperately wanted Christina to be as happy as she was with Hotohori that she automatically assumed that her friend and Tasuki were falling in love, although she had no real evidence to support her scheme. Yet, at the same time, she was questioning her own relationship. Lowering her voice, she continued, "I mean, they would both suffer from the anxiety of wondering if the other likes them in return. Sure, it's torture at the time, but doesn't every relationship need it?"  
  
Hotohori slightly turned his head, his eyes never leaving Katherine's face. "I'm sorry Katherine, but I don't seem to understand."  
  
Looking sleepily at the mattress, Katherine replied, "Never mind...I'm just tired and not thinking properly. Forget I ever said anything."  
  
Standing up, Hotohori quietly muttered, "Alright, I'll let you rest."

oOo

Chichiri walked down the long, lonely hallway of the Konan palace, heading towards Christina's room, and aimlessly noticed that it was much more peaceful to walk around as himself. When he had been posing as Hotohori, it had been impossible to get even a moment alone, always being followed by an advisor or guard to protect him. He also observed that it had grown perceptibly louder ever since Katherine and Christina had returned, mostly because the girls were usually running around the palace, seemingly trying to make as much noise as humanly possible. But Chichiri had no complaints; he felt like he hadn't smiled the entire time the girls had been gone. He knocked on the door that he had nearly walked right by while he was lost in his thoughts. The monk winced as a crash came from within the room, followed by a painful-sounding yelp.  
  
"The door's open!" Christina's voice called. The sei opened the door and walked inside to find Christina picking up a collection of oddly-shaped items that had spilled onto the floor. He would have asked what they were, but decided against it, knowing he would have to spend quite a while getting her to explain their purpose and so on. "Hey Chichiri," Christina smiled, placing her bag back on the table and stuffing her belongings back inside, "What's going' down?"  
  
"I'm going to perform a spell that can allow you and Katherine to talk to Tamahome, no da. Then we can all figure out how we're going to get him back in Konan, so can you get Katherine while I prepare the spell, no da?"  
  
"No prob!" answered Christina as she jumped off of her bed and ran across the room to fling the door open and run out.  
  
"Thanks, no da!" the monk shouted after her retreating form. Christina continued down the hall in such a hurry that she almost ran into a servant, causing Chichiri to wince yet again.  
  
"Sorry!" she apologized as she continued down the hall. The girl began to bang on Katherine's door, yelling her friend's name so loudly that Chichiri wouldn't have doubted if people in Kutou could hear her.  
  
A loud barrage of knocks bombarded Katherine's door, pounding not only on the wood, but also in Katherine's head, like a terrible migraine. "Hang on!" she complained, slowly blinking as she pulled the sheets off of herself. She walked to the door, stretching as she opened it to find Christina standing outside. "What is it?" Katherine yawned tiredly, quite frustrated that just when she was about to get some sleep, she was awakened.  
  
"We're gonna go talk to Tamahome, so let's go," Christina said as Katherine shielded her helpless eyes from the sun's dazzling rays.  
  
"Okey dokey then," Katherine sluggishly replied, walking out of her room and closing the door behind her. "What?" she questioned, noticing Christina's wandering eyes on her ensemble.  
  
"Nice PJs," Christina grinned, nodding towards Katherine's mismatched red penguin pants and yellow Cheerios tank top as they walked down the hall to find Chichiri.

oOo

Hotohori stood upon a balcony that overlooked his palace, which happened to be one of his favorite places to think. He watched quietly as Katherine and Christina quickly walked across a bridge and headed into the inner rooms of the palace. His gaze longingly followed his priestess, wishing for just one moment where he could read her mind. Katherine's heart-breaking words controlled his thoughts. "...you love me, right?" The uncertainty in her voice caused the emperor to rethink everything he had once told her.  
  
"Where're they goin'?" inquired Tasuki, who seemed to appear from nowhere, snapping Hotohori out of his thoughts immediately. The bandit stepped forward and studied the girls as they subtly opened a door and entered the room behind it, shutting the door behind themselves quickly and quietly.  
  
Tasuki had been avoiding Hotohori ever since he found out that he had been traveling with the emperor around Konan, mostly because he forgot the serious ruler was one and the same with his fellow warrior. It didn't help that most of the time the emperor was being trailed by a horde of guards, servants, and advisors who seemed to dislike the bandit's accent and mannerisms with a passion like the sun. Tasuki also knew that the emperor knew all the information he needed to close down his profession and home, which made speaking with him very discomforting.  
  
"Chichiri is going to cast a spell that will allow them to speak with Tamahome," answered Hotohori flatly, his mind elsewhere. To be truthful, he was still thinking about how Katherine hadn't told him what she was feeling. She just dropped the entire subject, as if she thought he didn't care or couldn't understand. The emperor looked over at Tasuki, continuing his thoughts on Katherine's and his conversation. "...I envy Christina and Tasuki 'cause they're actually getting to know each other."  
  
"Ya mean th' guy who's in Kutou?" the redhead questioned.  
  
"Yes," replied Hotohori, "now that all of the seishi have been found, he can return to Konan."  
  
"Well, what was he doin' in Kutou in th' first place?"  
  
Hotohori reflected for a moment, admiring the blue-haired sei's selflessness, and answered, "Tamahome traveled to Kutou to prevent a war. The trade was that if Tamahome willingly gave himself up, then the war would halt."  
  
Tasuki tried to find the logic behind what the missing sei had done. Rolling his eyes, the sei grumbled, "Sounds like a stupid thing t' do. Why aren't ya there with 'em?"  
  
"In Kutou?" questioned Hotohori, wondering just how thick the bandit's skull was. The emperor of Konan wandering around an enemy nation was not a good idea.  
  
"No, I mean sneakin' around downstairs an' talkin' t' what's-his-name," clarified Tasuki.  
  
"Chichiri has told me what I need to know."  
  
"So?" continued the bandit, "Aren't you 'n Katherine a couple? Shouldn't ya be hangin' out with her anyway an' bein' all romantic?"  
  
"Katherine hasn't been feeling well lately, and needs peace and quiet," Hotohori impassively stated, feeling quite uncomfortable speaking about Katherine, even though he was wondering the same thing. It was as though Katherine had closed up to him, like she was having second thoughts. But the problem was, Hotohori didn't know what she could possibly have second thoughts on. Loving him, perhaps? Marriage? Staying with him forever?  
  
Tasuki smirked, "That's what ya get when ya mess with wimmin."  
  
"I suppose..." Hotohori mumbled quietly.  
  
"Who needs 'em?" Tasuki continued. "They only lead t' trouble. Only carin' about how they look an' what men think of 'em."  
  
"Not all women are like that," Hotohori disagreed. "Katherine doesn't act like that, and neither does Christina."  
  
"Well, they're oddballs. I guess ya get weird ones in every crowd," Tasuki answered thoughtfully, wondering if all girls from Christina and Katherine's world were so different. He never saw Christina or Katherine sitting around and thinking about men all the time, or trying to figure out what would annoy people, like most women. The two girls were like sisters to the bandit, except for the fact that he liked them, something he couldn't say about his true siblings.  
  
On the other hand, Katherine had Hotohori, and they were the perfect couple. A Suzaku warrior who happened to be an emperor and his priestess, a legendary girl from another world; they were the perfect match. But Tasuki also knew that Katherine spent her free time either with Hotohori, or thinking about him. Girls were just like that. "It's probably 'cause all th' girls from their world are all weird 'er somethin'. I mean, they don't hang all over ya, they ride their own horses, an' they wear pants fer gods sakes!" he continued.  
  
But Tasuki had to admit, the girls from Katherine and Christina's world seemed a lot better than the women from Konan. At the very least, he didn't mind being around them. But, then again, they didn't act like girls most of the time. In fact, Tasuki couldn't help but laugh whenever they raced their horses and yelled at strangers who had made remarks about their clothes, or lack thereof.  
  
"What they wear and whether they ride horses or not doesn't determine anything," said Hotohori. "Their world is very different from ours, and they just have trouble...adjusting." Somehow, saying those words made Hotohori feel better. Like perhaps Katherine was only homesick, and that was the reason why she wanted to be by herself.  
  
It surprised the emperor completely, but it seemed as though talking to Tasuki had made the emperor's problems vanish.

oOo

Christina and Katherine found themselves in a room that they had never been to before. The dark red tile floor gleamed in the flickering light of the strategically placed candles, which surrounded the room. "Hey Chichiri," Katherine waved to the monk, who was seated on a mat in a corner of the room, surrounded by even more candles.  
  
"Hello Katherine, Christina," Chichiri greeted. "If you just sit down in front of that screen, then we can begin, no da."  
  
The priestesses knelt down in front of the cream-colored folding screen. Chichiri placed a long, thick piece of parchment covered in symbols on the side of the panel. The priestesses watched as the intricately flowered pattern of the screen faded, like day to night, growing darker and darker until Tamahome was staring right at them in surprise. It was as if the screen had turned to glass, but it was so clear that the girls felt that they could simply walk through to Kutou.  
  
Tamahome was dressed in a plain, dark blue shirt and tan pants. On the side of his cheek was a partially healed wound, a memento of Nakago's torture. He was kneeling on the blue tiled floor that also glittered in the candlelight, though it seemed a much colder place, for the sparkling floor shone almost menacingly. Behind the sei was an elaborate bed, and next to it was a small table and two chairs. Blue curtains fluttered in a cool breeze that seemed to travel through the screen itself, causing Katherine and Christina to shiver in the wintry wind.  
  
"Tama!" Christina and Katherine waved in unison.  
  
"Are you two alright?" Tamahome inquired, ignoring the cheery greeting completely. "I heard that one of you went blind."  
  
"That was me," Katherine said, raising her hand sheepishly, as though admitting to an embarrassing mistake.  
  
"But she's okay," Christina added, "thanks to Mits."  
  
"Who?"  
  
"One of the other seishi," said Katherine, forgetting that Tamahome had yet to find out that all of the seishi had been gathered. "He has healing powers! Oooo!" she said dramatically, slowly nodding and waving her hands in the air.  
  
Slightly chuckling at Katherine, glad to see she hadn't changed a bit, Tamahome asked, "Did you find them all?"  
  
"Yup. Chiriko, Mitsukake, and Tasuki," Christina answered, ticking off her fingers as she counted.  
  
Katherine finished happily, "And with you, Hotohori, Nuriko, and Chichiri, that's seven!"  
  
Tamahome leaned in towards the screen, as though he was whispering a secret, and lowered his voice. "I'm going to leave tonight, and I'm bringing Miaka with me." He looked over his shoulder, checking to see if anyone was eavesdropping from a corner, whether it be a maid or a spy.  
  
A look of horror on her face, Katherine began to object, "No w-"  
  
"Tamahome," Christina interrupted seriously, "she's the Priestess of Seiryuu. Are you sure we can trust her?"  
  
"Yes," Tamahome confidently replied, "I'm sure."  
  
Christina paused, then sighed, "Alright then, we'll just trust you on this."  
  
"I can't hold it for much longer, no da!" Chichiri called from the corner, clearly straining to hold the spell.  
  
"Watch out for everyone at the palace, Tamahome," warned Katherine quickly, trying to say as much as she could before the spell ended. "They could know your plans and might...poison you or something like that..." Katherine shivered as she imagined Nakago slipping Kodoku into Tamahome's food, or stuffing it down his throat while the sei was sleeping.  
  
Tamahome shrugged the words of warning off, "Don't worry, I'll keep a lookout."  
  
"Are you sure you don't need us to come get you?" Katherine asked, sincerely hoping that he could escape without any problems.  
  
"No, we'll be fine. I think I'll do what you did and tie the sheets together," he added to Christina with a laugh, remembering his and Katherine's shocked reaction when they had found the sheets hanging out the window.  
  
"Just..." Christina said, praying to Suzaku that all would work out, "just don't do anything stupid, and come back to us in one piece, okay?"  
  
"You got it," Tamahome cheerfully replied with a huge smile.  
  
"Oh!" Katherine suddenly remembered, "Your dad is doing fine, Mits healed him."  
  
"Is everyone else alright?" Tamahome asked quickly.  
  
"Yeah, they're doing fi-"  
  
"Sorry, no da!" Chichiri cried out. A popping noise sounded, and the screen quickly faded back to its original pattern; the paper that had been tacked onto the side fell to the ground, magically ripped in half as the spell ended.

oOo

Miaka walked hastily down the hallway, carrying a tray of food towards Tamahome's room. She looked down hungrily at the many plates of different varieties of food that rested on the serving dish. The food seemed to call out to her, its aromatic smell reaching into her mouth and nose. But Miaka strained against it, knowing the food was for Tamahome, who hadn't eaten the entire day. She knew the food was not going to stay on the tray much longer if she didn't find Tamahome quickly. She turned a corner to see Nakago leaning against a wall with his arms crossed across his chest. "Hey Nakago," she hurriedly greeted as she continued past the general.  
  
"Priestess, I must speak with you," Nakago's voice called.  
  
Miaka stopped and slowly turned around, careful not to spill the food. "What is it?" she cheerfully asked.  
  
"Tamahome will leave you soon. The plans for his departure have already been made," he stated coldly as he watched the smile disappear from the priestess's face.  
  
"W-what?" she stuttered, not believing her ears.  
  
"You obviously don't want him to leave you," the shogun said, moving closer towards the priestess. "If you put this in his food, he will be yours forever, Lady Miaka," Nakago continued, placing a purple pill on the edge of the tray.  
  
Miaka took one look at the pill and quickly took a step back. "Y-you want me to poison him?" she whispered, shocked at what Nakago was implying. "What...why?" she softly asked, confused at the sei's motive. She looked at the little, round pill, wondering what the drug contained. "How can you expect me to do that?"  
  
Nakago took the pill off the tray, tucking it under his belt as he calmly responded, "As you wish." He turned from his priestess and began to walk away.  
  
Miaka shook her head in disbelief. She stood contemplating her trust in Nakago for a moment or two before she snapped back to reality. "Okay! Gotta get this food to Tamahome!" she announced to herself. She glanced back down to the tray of delicious food and found it filled with empty plates. "When did that happen?" she whined, not believing she had subconsciously eaten the entire meal.

oOo

The morning birds were singing harmoniously as the glowing sun began to rise, coloring the sky with pink and gold, and dancing upon the dark, serene waters of the ponds in the courtyards. Dew-drenched grass waved in the soft morning breeze that whistled and threaded its way through the trees and flowers. The palace was just awakening; windows were opened to welcome the morning, and everyone began to stir in their beds, roused by the feeling of morning itself, and the promise of another lovely day.  
  
Mitsukake was standing in a small pavilion that sat overlooking the glittering pond. He watched the sun slowly rise into the sky while he contemplated nothing in particular. He was accustomed to waking up early and thoroughly enjoyed the morning breeze. The sound of footsteps approaching caused the doctor to snap out of his thoughts and look over his shoulder. He let out a small sigh of relief to find the young musician behind him.  
  
"Sorry, I didn't mean to bother you. I was just wondering why you were awake so early," Chiriko nervously wondered while fiddling with his wooden flute.  
  
Looking up at the sky in front of him, Mitsukake simply answered, "The rising sun calms me."  
  
The doctor didn't appear to be a man who needed much calming, but Chiriko decided not to push the thought any further. With awkward steps, he walked over to the railing and leaned against it, waiting a couple moments before asking his next question. "I've been wondering...is your name Mitsukake or Mits? Because I've heard you called both," he continued, looking around the garden aimlessly.  
  
"The celestial name given to me is Mitsukake, but the priestesses seemed to have taken to calling me 'Mits'," the sei replied. Turning his gaze towards the boy, he knew what he was going to ask next. "You may call me either," he answered ahead of time.  
  
"No offense, but you don't seem like the type of man who is particularly prone to nicknames."  
  
The doctor let out a small chuckle before saying, "I've never had one until the priestesses came."

oOo

Dinner had just concluded, and Katherine strolled down to her room, feeling quite full. "I'm definitely gonna end up sick if I eat all this Chinese food every night!" she thought despairingly to herself. "But it's just so good!" She yawned and stretched, hoping that she would finally get a full night's rest. Lately, it seemed impossible for her to go to bed without being interrupted from her sleep.  
  
A stampede of guards tramped down the hall, causing Katherine to lean against the wall, for fear of being squashed. Many of the soldiers nodded respectively at her, then returned to their quick-paced march. "What's all the rush?" inquired the priestess.  
  
"We've been informed that Lord Tamahome has returned," one guard answered as he ran by, still managing to sound extremely formal.  
  
Katherine mused to herself momentarily, and then called, "Does he have freakishly dark hair and a really ugly earring?"  
  
"I'm...I'm not sure, priestess..." the soldier replied confusedly as he turned a corner.  
  
Another guard turned to Katherine as he rushed past, adding, "The gates will be opening for his return very shortly." Katherine nodded in acknowledgement, and began to quickly walk alongside the line of guards who were headed to the front gate.  
  
She finally arrived in front of the huge doors to see that everyone else had already assembled, and seemed to be grouped off according to who actually knew Tamahome. Nuriko, Chichiri, and Christina were standing as close as the guards would allow, so that they could greet Tamahome as soon as he arrived home, talking amongst themselves about what they would ask him. Tasuki, Mitsukake, and Chiriko, on the other hand, were stationed slightly further away, so as to get a good look at the sei they were all impatiently waiting for. Katherine joined Chichiri, Nuriko, and Christina, who had just asked one of the guards exactly when Tamahome would return.  
  
"He was seen in the distance, and greeted the border guards into the city about an hour ago," one of the soldiers answered out of the corner of his mouth. "Lord Tamahome should be appearing soon." Coincidentally, as soon as the guard spoke his last words, the gigantic gates swung open dramatically, and a solitary horse strode in, carrying two passengers, both disguised in old-looking brown shawls.  
  
The captain of the guards marched forward and solemnly greeted, "Lord Tamahome! We rejoice at your return!" He backed off, and stood to the side in formation. The blue-haired sei nodded respectfully, then looked around, his mouth breaking into a huge smile when he spotted his fellow seishi and priestesses behind the mass of guards. The soldiers moved to the side to allow Katherine, Christina, Nuriko, and Chichiri to rush forward just as Tamahome dismounted.  
  
"Tamahome!" greeted Nuriko happily, still running as the gates swung close loudly.  
  
Tamahome laughed, thoroughly relieved to be home. "Guys! It's good to see you!"  
  
"Tamahome!" yelled Christina, who, surprisingly, jumped forward and wrapped him in a big bear hug. "I missed you! Are you okay? Did you have any trouble getting back?"  
  
"I'm fine, it's great to be home!" he marveled, greeting each of his friends in turn. One by one, Tasuki, Mitsukake, and Chiriko sidled forwards, not sure whether or not to present themselves or wait to be introduced.  
  
"Oh, yeah," Katherine suddenly remembered. "These are the rest of the seishi. Chiriko, Mits, and Tasuki," she said, pointing to each sei in turn.  
  
"Nice to meet all of you," stated Tamahome, receiving smiles from Chiriko and Mitsukake and rolling eyes and a shrug from Tasuki. "Oh!" Tamahome said, running back to the horse. He helped the small figure who had remained on the steed dismount. "This is Miaka..." Tamahome introduced, pushing the girl forward.  
  
"Hey, Miaka!" waved Christina.  
  
"Hi Christina!" Miaka grinned, happy to know more than one person in the whole of Konan. "How are you doing?"  
  
Christina fidgeted under Katherine's look of disbelief, who was obviously shocked that she was on friendly terms with Miaka. "I'm fine..." she trailed off before instantly changing the subject. "I bet you guys have been traveling for a while! Do you want something to eat? We have real food from back home."  
  
Miaka's eyes widened at the prospect of food. "I'm starved!"  
  
"Cool, because we have so much candy we don't know what to do with it!" exclaimed Christina as she hastily walked towards the palace, motioning for Miaka to follow. With a long sigh and a roll of her eyes, Katherine had no choice but to trail behind. The three priestesses sat around Christina's room. Miaka and Christina sat in chairs directly across from each other while Katherine remained withdrawn, leaning against the bed. Miaka had taken off the long, brown cloak, revealing her school uniform. Christina looked around nervously, noticing tension coming from Katherine's direction. "So...Miaka, I see you and Tamahome have decided to keep your presence on the down-low, right?"  
  
"Yeah," Miaka cheerfully answered, oblivious to Katherine's glare. "We thought it would be best for everyone if they didn't know I was the Priestess of Seiryuu," she explained with a shrug of her shoulders.  
  
Katherine sighed, laying her head against the bed. Noticing her fellow priestess's sigh of agitation, Christina uneasily changed the subject. "Um...we should probably get you a change of clothes, since the uniform will most definitely give you away, not to mention you've probably been wearing it for a while." She glanced over at Katherine, looking for any telltale signs that her friend might not be able to hold in her anger. Not seeing any evident ones, she tensely continued, "You look about Katherine's size...Katherine, do you have any kimonos?" Christina bit her bottom lip, hoping for a calm reaction.  
  
"Yeah, I have a couple," Katherine responded, with a slight roll of her eyes.  
  
"Well, could you lend some to Miaka?" she muttered, as though if she talked too loud a bomb might explode.  
  
With a slight shrug of her right shoulder, Katherine answered, "Whatever."  
  
Turning to the third priestess, Christina suggested, "Miaka, why don't you wait in Katherine's room? It's right next to mine. I need to talk to Katherine alone."  
  
"Okay..." Miaka softly replied, putting her dark brown cloak back on. Before shutting the door, she apologetically said, "I'm sorry if me staying here is going to be any trouble..."  
  
After staring at the door for a moment to make sure there would be no interruption, Christina turned to her friend and asked with much diction, "What the hell is wrong with you?"  
  
"I don't like this, okay?!" Katherine shouted back, feeling like she was always being accused of one thing or another. She felt like she had contained herself quite well in that situation, considering she would have loved to strangle Miaka. The last thing Katherine wanted was for Miaka to be near her, let alone Hotohori. And here was Christina, suggesting that Katherine give Miaka her clothes.  
  
"Why not?! We don't have anything to worry about now! The enemy is on our side!" Christina rebutted, trying to find the logic behind her friend's complaint. "And she's not so bad..." she continued, knowing her friend's hatred for Miaka was uncalled for.  
  
"Unbelievable..." muttered Katherine, not believing her ears. "Now you like her!" she hollered, wishing that Miaka could just go back to Tokyo where she belonged. "And, anyway, if anyone finds out we're being hospitable to the Priestess of Seiryuu, do you have any idea how much trouble Hotohori could be in?! It would be like the emperor betraying his own country! Whether or not he knows she's the priestess, the public's not gonna care if they find out!" she continued in a tense voice.  
  
Christina looked up at the ceiling for a moment before pleading, "Look, just try to be nice to her, okay? Treat her like the kids you baby-sit for or something. I've seen you be 'fake happy' before; you pull it off quite well."  
  
"Why should I? You hate Amiboshi, yet I never see you trying to be nice to him!"  
  
"She is on our side! On the other hand, he's trying to kill us!" Christina shouted, tired of hearing her friend's twisted way of thinking.  
  
"Whatever," Katherine muttered as she relented, rolling her hazel eyes for what seemed like the hundredth time that night. She walked out the door and slowly started down the hallway, trying to take as much time as possible. Once she reached the door to her own room, she leaned against it and let out a long sigh. "Why me?" she asked herself, shaking her head as she looked out into the sky. "Well, I might as well try to be nice if we're stuck together," she continued to mutter for only herself to hear.  
  
Taking in a deep breath, Katherine opened the door and smiled the widest, cheesiest smile she knew of. "Hey! Lemme try to find something for you!" she cheerfully greeted, walking inside and holding back the nausea that was stewing in her stomach.  
  
To be continued... 


	23. Episode 22: Revelation of Truth

Episode 22:  
  
Revelation of Truth  
  
By: Mrs. Tasuki and Nyan Nyan  
  
"Something smells sweet..." Katherine thought as she carelessly rolled around in her bed, subconsciously praying that sleep would take her back to dreamland for just another five minutes. She desperately tried to push the white sheet that she was tangled in off the bed, hoping it was the sheet that was causing so much warmth in the room. She slowly awoke, partially due to her constant movement and partly because of the heat that was causing such an uncomfortable atmosphere. Turning her face away from the sun, she mumbled to herself, "Man, it's hot today. Why didn't someone invent air conditioning sooner?"  
  
She glanced over at the clock to see how early her insomnia woke her up this time. She would give anything for just one full night of sleep without any worries. Her hazel eyes widened in shock and disgust as she realized her wish finally came true. 1:37 was clearly shown to her in bright red numbers. "Shit-taki mushrooms!" she exclaimed as she scrambled out of bed. "How long did I sleep?!" Rubbing her eyes, she jogged over to the bureau and picked out her green shirt with the junior mints logo on it and a pair of jean shorts with zippers for pockets. After tossing on her outfit, she grabbed the black hairbrush on her nightstand, noticing that there was a folded piece of paper under it that wasn't there last night.  
  
With an inquisitive look on her face, she slowly picked up the parchment. She did a double take after grabbing the paper, seeing a vase of white flowers also randomly placed on the nightstand. "No wonder it smelled so sweet in here..." she thought as she turned her attention back to the note. She cautiously examined it for a second before opening it. Before even reading the first line, she recognized the handwriting as Christina's. Her motivation being curiosity, she silently read the eight lines.  
  
Winged mistress of my dream Through the darkness, Letting your beauty gleam Casting light upon my soul  
  
Before the tears would stream Into the cracks of the night, Calling out to be redeemed This stranger has been saved.  
  
Below the poem was a Chinese character and Katherine read downward, intrigued. She noticed that beside the character it was signed 'Hotohori' in parentheses. Realizing that Hotohori must have asked Christina to write the poem as he dictated, she could not help but blush. The priestess carefully folded up the poem and placed it in her jewelry box, saving it forever.  
  
oOo  
  
Diana's little yellow car drove up the concrete driveway that led to the little, faded periwinkle house where she lived. The house sat on the very edge of the inner city limits, close enough to be able to walk into the town and stores, but still near the suburbia that took up the majority of the county. The little cottage looked as though it had been plucked right off of a lonely country road for no other purpose but to contrast the atmosphere of the busy town.  
  
Joan and Diana stepped out of the car and, after locking the doors, began walking up the red cobblestone path that led to the front porch. An old, wooden porch swing was creaking softly as the girls walked up the stairs, struggling to find a path to the door around the crowd of terracotta potted plants.  
  
The girls were greeted by the comforting smell of baking brownies as they opened the screen door and walked inside. The house was filled with the warm shades of deep reds and tans, from the crimson couches upon which golden pillows were placed to the little, wooden table that sat in the bright sunlight of the kitchen windows. There were several vases of flowers strategically placed in every room, as though the entire house was a garden in itself. Little knickknacks and keepsakes were sitting around the house, making the house into a scrapbook of memories.  
  
"Aunt Claire!" Diana called, "I'm home! And Joan's here too!"  
  
Smelling the chocolate scent in the air and realizing that she remembered it from most of the times she had visited, Joan inquired, "Does your aunt make brownies every day?"  
  
"Only when she has a free moment," Diana smiled happily. "Baking helps her relax, but I don't have a problem with it."  
  
"Who would?" Joan rhetorically asked. The girls heard the sounds of soft footsteps and looked up to see Aunt Claire walk into the kitchen. The woman was wearing a pair of old, faded jeans and a knitted olive green turtleneck sweater. She had the same build as Diana, tall and thin. Her short, shoulder-length brown hair curled out and was streaked with strands of soft gray. A pair of plain silver-rimmed glasses hung from the bejeweled chain around her neck.  
  
"Hello Diana, Joan," the woman smiled sweetly, nodding at each of the girls in turn. Turning to Joan, she added, "You should really come over more often, it's so nice to have someone other than Diana munching on my brownies. What do you two have planned?"  
  
"We're just gonna hang out upstairs...she's gonna help me with a project, but she might have to sleep over. You know," Diana shrugged, "with the end- of-school stretch and all. Is that okay?"  
  
Aunt Claire smiled, "That's fine. But I have to go out tomorrow and meet with a client...so I may not be there when you wake up."  
  
"We can fend for ourselves," Diana said, just as a loud buzz sounded. Aunt Claire rushed into the kitchen while Diana and Joan scampered up the stairs to Diana's room. They opened the door to reveal a cozy room that was wallpapered with a collection of pictures and posters over the gleaming, butter yellow walls. A large amount of anime posters and pictures that had been printed off, magazine ads, and even some drawings and paintings from artistically talented friends were hanging on the walls. A small, unmade bed was sitting on the hardwood floors in the corner of the room, next to a matching wooden desk with a computer and a bookshelf that was stuffed with manga and thick novels.  
  
"So, how did you become such a good liar?" Joan inquired, knowing that she had the same difficulty as Katherine, not ever being able to tell a believable lie.  
  
Diana spun around, her hands up, and grinned with a sly smile, "It's just the magic of being me!"  
  
oOo  
  
The kingdom of Kutou was in a state of pure chaos. The once-powerful realm that was the greatest military power of all of the four countries had been turned upside down for one, single, solitary person. Soldiers hunted the streets day and night, rewards were posted on every wall, and the advisors of the palace, the most intelligent scholars in existence, worked around the clock to calculate the whereabouts of the Priestess of Seiryuu.  
  
The shogun Nakago coolly turned a corner, scornfully watching the pitiful advisors scurry around like mice in a maze, their arms laden with books and maps. He entered a vast room that housed the emperor's throne. A lofty white marble staircase that was surrounded by numerous guards led to the gilded throne, behind which was a golden replica of the great god Seiryuu, its azure eyes sparkling with an otherworldly glow. The man who was emperor seemed misplaced among the fine treasures, his weasel-like face and long goatee, possessed of a repulsiveness that opposed the beauty of the throne room.  
  
The blond-haired general bowed down, his hand over his heart, secretly sneering in his mind at the fact that he could destroy the man he was bowing to in an instant. "You wished to see me?" asked Nakago, his eyes focused on the white marble floor beneath him.  
  
"Is there any new information on the location of our priestess?" the emperor demanded unemotionally, obviously not understanding the dilemma of the situation.  
  
"No, your highness," Nakago answered coldly. He knew that the emperor lacked the intelligence to even know the importance of finding the girl. The man who ruled was stupid and weak, and it would not matter to him even if there was new information.  
  
The emperor's eyes narrowed, and he opened his mouth to issue an order, but it took a few seconds for him to think of one, a truth that entertained Nakago thoroughly. "Then...try harder!"  
  
"Majesty, may I speak freely?" asked the shogun. The emperor waved him on with a casual flick of his wrist, giving him permission. Nakago continued, "The guards are looking in all the wrong places."  
  
"What do you mean by that?!" the emperor exploded. If his army did not know where to look, the people would think he did not know where to look, making the emperor look very unintelligent. The land had been wracked by civil war, and the people barely even obeyed his army. The last thing he needed was another uprising against the regime.  
  
"I can assure you, highness, the priestess is no longer in Kutou."  
  
oOo  
  
The assassin had been summoned to an audience with the shogun, quite an honor for a Kutou agent. Quickly and quietly, as though he was a shadow upon the walls, simply melting and changing with the dancing candlelight, the agent made his way towards the shogun's wing of the palace. The frequency of candles mounted along the walls lessened, making the rooms darker and quieter. He walked past golden statues of Seiryuu, the sapphire eyes of the immortally gilded dragon staring at him as he went.  
  
He silently threaded himself through the crack of a doorway, not making a noise, and straightened up, trying to stand in a formal pose. The shogun turned around, having known that the agent had entered, although he had not heard or seen it; such was the shogun's power. The shogun's blond hair stood out in the darkness, shining like he was some sort of dark angel in spiked armor. His blue eyes seemed to look through the assassin as mercilessly as the gem-eyed dragons that were so abundant in the palace of Kutou.  
  
"Shogun," greeted the agent with a low bow as he glided towards the center of the room, towards the shogun, "You wished to see me?"  
  
Nakago nodded. "The Priestess of Seiryuu is gone." He paused, waiting for a look of surprise to sweep across the assassin's face. There was no change in expression, and the shogun seemed pleased, for he continued, "She is staying in the palace of Konan. Go there, and make sure no harm befalls her. Lady Miaka is vital to the country."  
  
The shogun reached into the depths of his armor and lifted out a small white packet. "Do you know what the drug Kodoku does to the victim's mind?" asked Nakago, a smirk upon his face as he held it up at eye-level, twisting and turning it to examine the package more thoroughly. The assassin simply nodded. "When you return," continued the shogun, "I expect Emperor Saihitei to no longer breathe, and for the Priestess to be in the safe hands of this palace. Use any means to kill him, but you may find this useful." Nakago tossed the tiny, deadly envelope to the agent, who hurriedly caught it and stashed it inside the folds his long, flowing black robes.  
  
The agent bowed, then turned and walked towards the door. Before he slipped out of the room, the shogun warned, "Do not fail me. I am not one to suffer disappointment."  
  
oOo  
  
Tamahome opened the door that led from his room to the palace corridor outside. He had to find Chichiri, to tell him not to reveal who Miaka really was before he got the chance. If the other seishi found out that the Priestess of Seiryuu, their very enemy, was staying in the palace as a guest, all hell would break loose.  
  
He headed towards the gardens, where he assumed Chichiri spent most of his time, most likely meditating or chanting or praying.  
  
Into the maze of trees, plants, and flowers ventured Tamahome, searching through the labyrinth for a sign of towering blue hair, the smiling monk's face, or the familiar sound of 'no da'. Feeling like he had just trekked across the entire country of Konan, the blue-eyed sei decided to stop and rest. A quarry of boulders and stones that surrounded one of the sparkling blue ponds of the garden seemed to be calling his name.  
  
As he walked towards the pile of rocks, a patch of bright blue color caught his eyes. To his surprise, it was the very person he had been looking for. Chichiri was seated on the top of the largest boulder with a small bamboo fishing pole in his hands. His woven brown kasa was lying next to him on the stone. Tamahome blinked. Evidentially the monk did more than religious rituals. "Caught anything yet?" he called.  
  
The monk glanced over and replied in a cheerful tone, "Not yet, no da."  
  
Taking the reply as his invitation, the sei climbed up the wall of rocks, and then sat down. Neither one said a word, they just stared at the glassy pond, at the trees that were reflected on its surface, and at the early morning sky.  
  
Desperate to break the silence, Tamahome asked curiously, motioning to the pond, "Are there even fish in there?"  
  
"I'm not sure, no da."  
  
"So...about Miaka..." Tamahome trailed off, looking down at his hands as he tapped his fingertips together. Chichiri glanced over at the boy, and then lifted off his mask, revealing a painful-looking scar that ran over his left eye and nose. Setting the smiling mask beside his hat and placing the bamboo fishing rod on the stones next to him, the monk took a long, deep breath, looking at Tamahome in an almost fatherly fashion.  
  
In a serious tone that was not his own, Chichiri solemnly began, "There was once a boy...about your age, and he had everything." A far-off look appeared in the monk's ruby eye, a sad, sorrowful expression, as if he was not seeing Tamahome but looking through him and into the past. "He, his best friend, and his fiancée had been together since before they could remember, and they were both by his side. But one day, the boy's fiancée confessed that she could no longer marry him, because she was unworthy of his love. She had betrayed him by being touched by another man. The man who had touched her was the boy's best friend."  
  
"Overcome by rage at his best friend's deception, the boy killed his friend, only to realize how much he cared for him after he was gone. On that same day, his family and fiancée were killed in a terrible flood, leaving the boy to linger on, alone, and in sorrow."  
  
Chichiri turned back to Tamahome, the grave expression still on his face, while regret and pain seemed to swim in his eye. "He soon realized that the betrayal alone was not enough to cause his anger. It was only the fact that his best friend would deceive him that had filled with such hate. Silence may delay pain for a short time, but when lies are uncovered, that is when true hatred is revealed."  
  
The monk leaned over and picked up his smiling mask, twisting and turning it in his hands. "At the very moment that I lost everything I held dear, I was given this scar, so that I might never forget." He placed the mask back over his face, hiding both the wicked gash and his sorrow-filled eye. "That's why I wear this smiling mask."  
  
"But..." inquired Tamahome, "Why don't you just let it heal, Chichiri?"  
  
Chichiri sighed and looked back up into the sky, "Because a part of me doesn't want to forget." He turned back to Tamahome and smiled, "I won't tell anyone about Miaka." His smile quickly faded away as he continued, "But, if anyone else finds out, everything that you have been through will mean nothing in the face of such a lie. I'm sure you have your reasons, but remember, even though trust takes ages to build, it can be broken in a moment."  
  
"Thanks, Chichiri," Tamahome smiled, feeling better and worse at the same time. He looked back out at the shining lake, wondering if he was betraying his friends by lying about Miaka.  
  
The monk looked at Tamahome worriedly, then quickly turned his attention back to the shaking bamboo pole on the rock. With a quick flick, he pulled a large, blue fish out of the shadowy depths of the pond. Tamahome watched as Chichiri admired his catch, then unhooked it and dropped it back into the water. He threw his line back into the pond as Tamahome stood up, brushed off the back of his pants, and walked off of the rocks, leaving the monk to his fishing and his thoughts.  
  
oOo  
  
The bright blue sky floated serenely above Konan, its feathery white clouds and brilliant golden sun seemingly trying to lighten the shadowy mood that had overcast the palace. Nuriko found himself leaning against one of the palace railings, staring up at the picturesque sky. He was stiffly slouched on the banister, as if trying to convince himself with a casual pose that there was nothing to worry about.  
  
He turned his head as he heard a far-off voice emanating from one of the corridors of the palace. "My arm is supposed to be attached!" warned Christina as Katherine tugged her along, towards the side of the courtyard where Nuriko stood. "Where are you dragging me, anyway?"  
  
"You'll see..." Katherine replied in a serious voice as she continued to pull Christina, who was obviously oblivious to the situation, along the path. When the girls were a few feet away from Nuriko, Christina tore her gaze away from her arm, which Katherine had nearly pulled out of its socket, and smiled as she saw the sei.  
  
"Hey! What's goin' down?" she asked jokingly. Nuriko couldn't help but slightly smile at the sight of Christina's huge grin, but then he realized that Christina was as much a liar as Katherine, and the smile instantly evaporated.  
  
"Come on you two, let's go to the gardens..." Katherine muttered to her feet.  
  
"Let's go then," Christina shrugged, still not understanding why Katherine was leading her and Nuriko to the gardens. Katherine walked off, leading the way for no one, since Christina strayed back to wait for Nuriko, who hadn't moved.  
  
Nuriko shook his head, wanting to avoid Katherine and the fight that was still fresh and painful in his mind. "It's all right, you just...go on without me. I'll just talk to you two later..."  
  
"Okay, your loss," Christina shrugged, turning around and jogging towards Katherine's retreating figure. "He said he'd just talk to us later..." Katherine ignored Christina and kept walking, her pace quickening as she grew more irritated. "Do you know what's up with him? He seems kinda...quiet. That's weird for him," she added thoughtfully.  
  
Nuriko watched as the two girls walked off, their strides lengthening as if they were trying to get away from the sei as soon as their legs would take them. Suddenly and with great determination, Katherine turned around and stomped back to the former courtier. "What do you want?" he asked rudely, making sure Katherine knew that she was the last person he wanted to talk to.  
  
"Look," Katherine stated, "we're both angry, but we can't stay like this forever!"  
  
Nuriko grimaced, muttering, "Watch me," under his breath.  
  
Katherine didn't hear what he said, but caught the gist of it. She rolled her eyes, and continued, more irritably than polite, "So could you please just follow us to the gardens?"  
  
Nuriko sighed exasperatingly and murmured, "Fine," as he reluctantly followed the two girls to the gardens.  
  
The lilies, orchids, and other flowers swayed in the calm breezes, filling the air with their perfumed scent while the leaves rustled harmoniously. Not another soul was around, leaving Katherine, Christina, and Nuriko alone among the plants. Nuriko stood farthest away from the group, his arms crossed as if he had been forced to be there. Christina, still clueless, but having a feeling that the tension between Katherine and Nuriko was important, was standing between the two others, like she was some sort of barrier in case one decided to attack the other. None of the group dared to speak, and after a few moments, Nuriko sat down on a carved wooden bench in a bored manner.  
  
"So..." Katherine trailed off. "Obviously we have something to tell you..." Nuriko sighed exasperatingly at the naïve statement, and waved his hand, telling her to go on. Katherine, who had lost all of her confidence, stuttered, "Yeah...okay. So..."  
  
"Wait...what's going on?" Christina whispered to Katherine.  
  
The girl leaned back and answered, "He knows."  
  
"Knows what?"  
  
Katherine, irritated, said a little bit louder and in a slow tone that one would use with a child. "He knows that we know."  
  
"What do we know?" asked Christina confusedly.  
  
Becoming more and more frustrated, Katherine replied, "He knows that we know everything!"  
  
"What? Are you serious?"  
  
Nuriko fidgeted as Christina shot a glance his way. "Yes, well...no..." Katherine replied, realizing that Nuriko's gaze was still upon them. She lowered her voice and continued, "So we're going to tell him our little secret." She raised her eyebrows and nodded for Christina to agree with her.  
  
Instead, Christina turned back to Nuriko, and, holding up her index finger, said, "Uno momento, por favor." Katherine's calm voice had told Christina everything she needed to know; her friend had gone mad. Pulling her friend further away from the sei, Christina asked in a harsh whisper, "What are you on!?"  
  
"Nothing," Katherine answered in the same, loud murmur. "He knows that we are up to something, and we have to tell him."  
  
"So you decided to bring me here before even telling me what was going on!?"  
  
"Well, I know I should have told you first...but hey! You're here, right?" she said as a huge, cheesy grin spread across her face. Christina's jaw dropped at Katherine's lighthearted response.  
  
"I have better things to do. I'm leaving," Nuriko said as he stood up and began to walk away.  
  
"No, wait!" Katherine called, realizing that Nuriko was not bluffing. With nothing else to say, and Nuriko fading into the distance quickly, Katherine shouted, "We know stuff before it happens!"  
  
Nuriko snapped around to see Christina jumping on top of her friend in an attempt to strangle and silence Katherine. If he hadn't been so angry, he would have burst out laughing. "Now I know why Christina makes up your excuses," he said. "That must have been the stupidest thing I have ever heard! Did you really expect me to believe that?"  
  
Katherine began to reply, but Christina quickly interrupted, "Katherine, you are such a joker! If I was psychic I'd be off...buying lottery tickets or something!"  
  
"Shut up!" Katherine shouted at Christina angrily.  
  
Christina turned back to Katherine and yelled back, "You shut up!"  
  
"Both of you, shut up! You're giving me a headache!" Nuriko complained. "Now, are you going to tell me what is really going on, or am I going to have to find out myself!?"  
  
"I already did!" Katherine whined exasperatingly. "How else would we have known about the plague in Choko!? And that 'Last night I had a dream that we had to travel to a city that starts with Jo'? Don't tell me you actually bought that!"  
  
"Of course I didn't..." stuttered Nuriko, realizing that they had known about the plague, and about Jouzen-Shi. "But I expect a better explanation than...than this!"  
  
Katherine began to pace around, obviously tired of trying to explain any other way. "And how do you think my reflection knew that you were a guy?" She paused, then continued, "Because I knew."  
  
Nuriko laughed, "Anyone could have figured that out!"  
  
"You had the whole harem fooled," pointed out Katherine. No one said a word. Fed up with the entire situation, Katherine sighed, "Fine. Believe what you want to believe." She walked away from Nuriko and Christina, back towards that palace. Before she was out of hearing distance, she turned around and added smartly, "I'm not the only one hiding something. Honestly, Nuriko, I don't know what you're scared of, but Kourin wouldn't have wanted you to hide your personality like this."  
  
Nuriko was shocked; he felt like he had been slapped. The air had frozen in his lungs, and his heart had stopped beating. No one knew about Kourin, no one except his family. "She just has to get in the last word," Christina muttered angrily, shaking her head back and forth. "Let's find a place to talk," the girl said to Nuriko quietly.  
  
Nuriko, still not speaking, led the priestess to a small, secret spot that only the courtiers knew about. He and the rest of the harem used to sneak outside and watch the emperor while he strode about the palace from the confines of the garden, gossiping and talking about who would be empress. After noticing that it seemed abandoned, like no one had been there in ages, he realized that none of the courtiers had even bothered visiting since the priestesses had arrived.  
  
He sat down on one of the benches, his face still slack from the shock. "Okay..." Christina began. But her voice was stuck in her throat. What was she supposed to do? Tell him that he was not real, just a cartoon character? Tell him that someone created his entire existence with a pencil and paper? She didn't understand how they weren't real. They felt, didn't they? Didn't they bleed, and cry, and feel emotion? Weren't they real, then?  
  
"In our world...there's this...legend sort of thing," Christina began, trying to figure out how to choose her words while not telling Nuriko that he wasn't real. She decided that she would tell him the truth, just not the entire truth; it was the only way that she could. "And...it's about these seven people, right? And this girl gets taken into another world and finds these seven people so she can go home..."  
  
Nuriko opened his mouth as if about to correct her, but decided against it. Instead, he stared at her blankly, giving the girl a look that screamed, 'that legend is from my world, you idiot'. "But...the thing is...in my world...the legend is all complete. Except...it's like...Katherine and I are sort of..." she began to twist her hands around, trying to find the words. "It's sort of like we're living it...and we already know how it ends..."  
  
Nuriko didn't know what to think; it didn't make sense at all. If they had known all along, they would have just been able to pick people out of a crowd, and the ceremony would have been over in mere days. "But..." Christina continued, "some of it has been kind of...different."  
  
Nuriko asked, "What do you mean different?"  
  
"Well...like there was only one priestess in the legend...and...you know...little things here and there..."  
  
"Are you telling me that you two knew about everything...and Katherine let us almost get killed by those reflections?" Nuriko watched as Christina seemed to shrink. Nuriko was in disbelief, his voice growing louder and louder. "And you let us get captured by bandits? And battle those zombie things? And you almost let yourself get killed by bats!?"  
  
"It's complicated..."  
  
"Complicated! Complicated?" Nuriko stood up angrily. "You knowing everything...about everything...and you don't say a word!"  
  
"Would you have believed us!? Because you didn't until just now!" Nuriko sat down, knowing she was right. It had taken some convincing for him to even accept the possibility of it all.  
  
"So...you know everything...about all of us?" Nuriko asked. Christina didn't answer, and he assumed that the answer to his question was yes. He held his head in his hands, still trying to let the truth sink in. "And you lied to all of us...the whole time?"  
  
oOo  
  
Katherine watched as Nuriko and Christina walked off to a remote corner of the garden, where they seemingly disappeared. She waited for about thirty minutes until they both returned and went to their separate chambers. Katherine walked down to her fellow priestess's room, opened the door, and walked inside.  
  
"What did you tell him?" Katherine inquired.  
  
Christina gave Katherine an angry look. "You, I don't even want to talk to. How could you just drag me into that without telling me and then expect me to fix everything for you?"  
  
Katherine protested, "I didn't-"  
  
"Shut up," Christina snapped, leaving Katherine's mouth open in surprise. "I told him that The Universe of the Four Gods is like a legend in our world, and I told him about how Amiboshi is pretending to be Chiriko. And he agrees with me, that we should make him leave. Now."  
  
"I thought we were supposed to tell him the truth," Katherine said, putting emphasis on the final word. "A legend in our world?"  
  
"First of all," Christina replied angrily, "I'm the one who told him, not 'we'. Second of all, it is a legend in our world, it's a Chinese creation myth. I'm sorry that I didn't want to spend five hours explaining the whole series of 'Fushigi Yuugi'. It's easier to understand this way."  
  
"Fine," Katherine said exasperatedly. She rolled her eyes, making sure her friend knew that she would have done a much better job explaining it.  
  
Christina crossed her arms and replied, "Fine."  
  
The two girls stood still for a moment, each one too angry to talk to the other. "Get out of my room," stated Christina, realizing that she had the upper hand.  
  
Katherine stomped towards the door and flung it open, calling over her shoulder, "Fine!"  
  
"Fine!" answered Christina as Katherine slammed the door shut so loudly that she thought it would fall off its hinges.  
  
As Katherine slammed the door behind her, she realized her friend did have a point and, even though Christina had blown it out of proportion, she still had a reason. Katherine opened the door again, and poked her head in to see her friend, sitting on her bed with a pair of headphones.  
  
Christina looked up at Katherine, tugged off her earphones, and asked, "What do you want?"  
  
"Fine, I admit I kind of left ya hanging..." Katherine admitted, hanging her head, ashamed of herself. "But...Nuriko is already pissed at me as it is. The last person he would have wanted to hear that from would have been me." She opened the door and cautiously let herself in, as if Christina was some sort of monster that could breathe flames at any moment.  
  
Her friend sighed heavily, obviously growing less angry. "You still could have told me," she pointed out, "it wasn't fair to bring me out there without a warning at all. One of these days, I'll get you back for it," warned Christina.  
  
"Can't wait." She smiled, glad to see that her friend didn't despise her.  
  
"Alright..." Christina said seriously. Then, she clapped her hands, proclaiming, "The party's tonight! We've been putting it off for too long!"  
  
"What party?"  
  
"The one that we'd been planning," Christina started to explain but stopped suddenly, realizing that the only planning that had occurred had been inside her head. "Hotohori said it was okay if we had a party for finding all the seishi, so why not have it tonight?"  
  
oOo  
  
Miaka anxiously followed behind Tamahome as he led her down the maze of twisting hallways, excited for the night ahead. He had come to her room and given her a small piece of paper covered with symbols she couldn't understand. "Party at sunset in the conference room," he had told her, reading the invitation from the paper. "Celebration for finding everyone."  
  
He had laughed, not believing that the two foreigners were planning a party in the conference room of the palace, no less. Miaka was eager to go and get a chance to get to know everyone for once. Usually the seishi and priestesses stayed in their own little cliques when around the palace.  
  
Katherine was usually found with her friend Christina, the sei Chiriko, or the emperor Hotohori, while the second priestess was usually somewhere near her best friend, Katherine, talking with the lavender-haired sei Nuriko, or getting into some kind of trouble with the fiery Tasuki. Nuriko, the beautiful sei with amethyst eyes, could be found talking with the doctor Mitsukake or Christina, or even with Tasuki, finding some way to knock the bandit off of his feet and into a wall every so often.  
  
The emperor was generally busy, somewhere in his conference room with the advisors or in the throne room, as he was taking care of the entire country. On some occasions, though, Miaka would spot the emperor and Katherine spending time together, walking hand-in-hand in the gardens, watching the stars. Chichiri, the monk in the smiling fox mask, was friends with everyone, and seemed to be everywhere, but gravitated towards the bandit for some reason, as though Tasuki's aggressive attitude counteracted his much calmer one.  
  
Tasuki seemed to lead his own mischievous group, as if trying to make up for not being able to lead his bandits. He, Nuriko, and Christina were always found somewhere, finding obvious delight in playing jokes on the uptight advisors, but he was most often found walking and chatting with Chichiri. Mitsukake, the soft-spoken healer, talked with Chiriko most of all, but seemed to have a connection with Christina, Katherine, and Nuriko as well, as if he brought out a serious, mature side in the three that was rarely shown. The musician Chiriko was often found playing his wooden flute by himself, but his notes attracted the likes of Mitsukake and especially Katherine, she being a flutist too.  
  
Miaka did not feel as if she fit right in the group, even though Christina always tried to take an extra second to greet her. She was the enemy, one of the Seiryuu, and it would be a lie if she would befriend them. But Tamahome was Miaka's salvation. He was always there, comforting her, talking with her, walking around the gardens.  
  
He had told her about the party that the priestesses had planned, and invited her to come along. So, excitedly, Miaka had picked out the best robes that were in her room, a pale green kimono with a pale pink sash. The colors, though a strange pair, seemed to match perfectly. She walked behind Tamahome as he led her to the conference room of the palace of Konan. The sun had already set, and Miaka quickened her pace in order to reach the destination on time. She looked up at him, and twined their arms together, happy to be going. "There's going to be food there, right?" Miaka asked with a smile.  
  
"I'm sure there will be, Christina and Katherine's rooms are both filled with food, and I can't imagine them not bringing it all."  
  
"Yay!" Miaka grinned. A noise was growing louder, a strange thumping noise. Tamahome stopped outside a large set of doors that Miaka assumed led to the conference room. Her heart was pounding, almost in beat with the music, as Tamahome flung open the doors to show that everyone was already inside. "Tamahome," Miaka whispered angrily, "We're late!"  
  
"You're the one who took so long to get ready," pointed out the sei. Loud music was pulsing from a tiny walkman that had miniature speakers hooked up to it. The table was covered in an assortment of junk food that Miaka gladly recognized. At one end of the table sat Tasuki, Nuriko, and Christina in front of the collection of sake bottles. Nuriko and Tasuki seemed to be watching the girl as she tried the alcohol, and were obviously amused.  
  
The rest of the seishi were sitting around the table, sampling the other- worldly food or trying to figure out how the walkman played the strange music. Katherine jumped up to the door, shouting in a sing-song voice, "Bonjour!" She was wearing a pair of bright red pants and a matching shirt that was trimmed with gold piping. "Katherine..." Tamahome said slowly, "You realize that you're wearing a boy's outfit...right?"  
  
"Yeah, so? I think it looks cute," she smiled and winked. She looked over Tamahome's shoulder to find Nuriko smiling in return.  
  
From the end of the table, Christina stood up, a small bottle of sake clenched in her fist. She, unlike Katherine, was wearing a kimono that was made for a woman, a fact that relieved Miaka. Her robes were a dark green that accentuated her eyes, with flared white sleeves and a dark violet underskirt that flowed out from under the green fabric. "Nuriko wears girl kimonos," she defended.  
  
"Yeah, but that's 'cause he's a fag," Tasuki objected. Nuriko, who was sitting next to the bandit, stuck out his fist and hit the sei right out of his chair in into the back wall.  
  
Christina laughed, "Par-tay!" as she surveyed the bandit in the corner. She sat back down next to Nuriko, giggling. Tamahome closed the doors behind him and Miaka walked in to stare at the wide array of food. Miaka quickly made her way to the food, almost knocking into the tipsy priestess who was aimlessly running from corner to corner trying to make as much noise as possible. Miaka couldn't help but to giggle as she heard Christina continuously yell, "Whoooo!" as she ran.  
  
Katherine, who was standing with Chiriko and Mitsukake, continued to laugh boisterously at her drunken friend. She was almost sent to her knees with laughter as Christina kneeled in front of her, waving a victory sign, while whispering, "Superstar!"  
  
Nuriko appeared behind the insane priestess, snatching the sake bottle from her right hand. "You're done. I never figured you for a light weight," he stated, trying to prevent her from having a huge hangover the next morning.  
  
"Excuse me?!" Christina grabbed the bottle of alcohol and drank more, desperately trying to prove the sei wrong.  
  
Holding back her laughter, Katherine said with a sly smile and a roll of her eyes, "Way to go, Nuriko. Don't encourage her." She continued over to the snack table, leaving Nuriko with the responsibility of watching Christina. She grabbed a couple of cheetos and popped them up in the air one by one, skillfully catching them in her mouth. "Oh yah! I so totally rock!" she declared for no one in particular to hear. She turned around and observed the party, making sure everyone was enjoying themselves.  
  
Mitsukake was in the corner, sampling the Mike n' Ikes, and obviously growing more fond of them with every bite. Meanwhile, Chichiri was engaged in a conversation with the silent healer, trying to get more than five words out of him. Chiriko was fascinated with the CD player, trying to place the oddly loud instruments playing in the background. On the dance floor, Miaka was desperately trying to teach Tamahome how to dance to the hardcore rock music playing.  
  
"Only one person missing..." Katherine mumbled, wondering where the last person could have run off to. Her hazel eyes scanned the room, hoping to spot him this time. Sighing with disappointment, she turned around and was taken aback to see the lost individual standing behind her with his back towards her, busying himself with making sure everything was perfectly in place. Rolling her eyes and exhaling, she begged, "Sugar Daddy H! Please, lighten up for a change!"  
  
Assuming she was talking to him, Hotohori slowly turned around with an inquisitive look, "Excuse me?"  
  
"Well, you're at a party, start acting like it! Here, try a cheeto." She handed several tasty, cheesy snacks, finding amusement out of watching him examine it before carefully tasting it.  
  
Across the room Nuriko smiled at Hotohori's surprised reaction to the delectable treat. Pouring himself another drink, he dismally whispered, "Good luck with your emperor." He tipped his head back and quickly finished off the cup, welcoming the alcohol into his system.  
  
Christina, enjoying what seemed to be infinite supply of sake, turned to Tasuki and suggested, "Let's play a drinking game!"  
  
"What?" Tasuki replied, not believing his ears. Christina already had more than enough drinks, and now she wanted to start playing a game.  
  
Christina pondered for a moment on what a good subject of the game could be. "Light Bulb!" she declared. "Let's go talk to Chichiri and every time he says 'no da' we take a drink!"  
  
To Be Continued...  
  
**Fushigi Akugi**  
  
"So..." Tamahome trailed off, looking down at his hands as he tapped his fingertips together. Chichiri glanced over at the boy, and then lifted off his mask, revealing a painful-looking scar that ran over his left eye and down his cheek. Setting the smiling mask beside his hat and placing the bamboo fishing rod on the stones next to him, the monk took a long, deep breath, looking at Tamahome in an almost fatherly fashion.  
  
In a serious tone that was not his own, Chichiri solemnly began, "Tamahome...love is a battlefield." A far-off look appeared in the monk's ruby eye, a sad, sorrowful expression, as if he was not seeing Tamahome but looking through him and into the past. The monk smiled, winked the one eye he had, then laughed, "Don't I know it. Now, once there was a boy...from Nantucket..."  
  
Chichiri looked down at the joint that was grasped in his hand, distracted. "This weed is the shit!" he half-smiled, half-coughed. All of the sudden, the bamboo pole that was clutched in his free hand began to pull, and, in the excitement, the monk almost dropped his joint.  
  
Tamahome held the pot for Chichiri, but only after he was told not to smoke any of it, or Chichiri would 'kick his skinny, white ass'. The monk tugged at the line, like Ahab fighting with Moby Dick, until he finally pulled it out of the pond, declaring, "Look! I got a fish, no da!"  
  
Chichiri unhooked the rusted tin can from the fishing pole, and presented it to Tamahome after snatching back his joint. Tamahome, quite frightened, carefully set the can down on the rock upon which they sat. "You should have seen what I caught last time, no da," added Chichiri thoughtfully as he puffed away. "It was a fish, and it said its name was Goldie, no da."  
  
**A/N:** This episode is dedicated to...Kouji-Girl! She wrote the pretty poem! See her pretty pictures at: www. geocities. com/ mallydaimon13/  
  
**A/N2:** Goldie was a good fish. He didn't expect much, and he never complained. He died at the hands of Nyan Nyan's grandmother...we'll just call her Taiitsukun. Let us take six seconds of silence to remember and honor the six long years that Goldie lived, laughed...and loved.  
  
One fish, Two fish, Red fish, Blue fish.  
  
There, that was about six seconds. Or close enough. Goldie: You are in our thoughts...always. This is for you.  
  
R.I.P. Goldie 1998-2004  
  
**A/N 3:** The gangster name 'Sugar Daddy H' was found on Nuriko's Fushigi Yuugi Scrapbook Version 2.0, which is one of our favorite sites. Here's the link: http:www. nuriko/fy/ index2. html 


	24. Episode 23: Poisoned Love

Episode 23:

Poisoned Love

By: Nyan Nyan and Mrs. Tasuki

The seishi and priestesses of Suzaku, along with Seiryuu's priestess, were all congregated inside the conference room of the palace of Konan, which had been turned upside down. There was a bizarre collection of food on the table that had usually been reserved for only the most important meetings mixed with oddly colored snacks the two Suzaku priestesses had prepared. Strange, deafening music pulsed through the air. The ceremony to summon Suzaku was to take place in a few days, and there seemed to be nothing to worry about until then.

But, unbeknownst to all of the seishi with the exception of Nuriko, a traitor was among them. Amiboshi, the sei of Seiryuu, was still posing as Chiriko, the peaceful musician. Nuriko, Katherine, and Christina had promised that their party would be Amiboshi's last chance. Katherine had begged Nuriko and Christina to give him the one night, sure that the sei would finally trust them and reveal who he truly was.

But, there were other problems that the seishi and priestesses would have to face. The supply of sake was gone. Together, Tasuki and Nuriko had both drained the majority of the entire stock of alcohol, and Christina had helped out with finishing the rest in her and the bandit's drinking game.

"Tasuki...!" complained Nuriko as the bandit finished off the final bottle. Grumbling while he searched his own tiny cup for a remaining droplet, Nuriko muttered, "Now someone has to get more..." He looked back at Tasuki threateningly, and then smiled. "You drank it all, you get more."

"Hey!" the red-haired sei protested, pointing at Christina, "she drank half of it!"

Nuriko turned his gaze at the girl and declared, "Fine, she can go too."

Christina, who was leaning on her elbows and staring interestedly at the empty bottles, was pulled out of her stupor by the last statement. She looked at Nuriko and slowly inquired, "Who made you boss?"

"I'm the oldest," declared Nuriko, to no objections. "And you're both too drunk to walk by yourselves anyway." Tasuki looked down at the empty bottles, contemplating whether it would be worth it to leave and find more. After a momentary debate with himself, he stood up, pulled Christina from her seat, and dragged her out the door.

The dark scenery outside seemed larger and unfamiliar, partially because of the lack of sunlight, but mostly in thanks to the sake that the bandit had consumed. He found that he still wasn't drunk enough to have major trouble walking; even though the priestess was stumbling around like she had never walked before. He pulled her down the stairs and towards the gate, staying near the edge of the walls, closer to the shadowy safety.

Christina, too drunk to notice the bandit's sneakiness, strayed towards the center of the courtyard, spinning around as they crossed it. She stretched out her arms and twirled around, not paying attention until the sei grabbed her arm and pulled her near the walls, into the shadows. "Hey, c'mon, back over here," Tasuki whispered to her.

"They probably wouldn't let ya out on account that ya could get kidnapped or somethin'," Tasuki finished. Christina began to laugh, not loudly, but noisily enough that a guard would have been able to hear, so he placed his hand over her mouth to quiet her. After laughing at the gesture for a moment, she quieted down, and then surprised the bandit by attempting to bite his palm. He quickly removed his hand from her lips and, after giving her a confused look, led the priestess towards the main gate.

It would have been difficult to wrench one of the huge, gilded doors open enough for them to squeeze through if he was sober, and so he struggled with the gate for a moment, the alcohol in his system slowing his progress significantly. He finally pulled it open, watched as Christina snuck through, and then followed, pulling the gate closed quickly before any guards would come. "Wait...what're we doing again?" the girl slurred once they were out of sight.

"We gotta get some more sake," Tasuki reminded her as he led the way towards town. They walked further into the city, with Tasuki feeling the effects of the alcohol increase with every step, until they found a small tavern. After buying as many bottles as the two of them could carry, the priestess and sei sat down at a small table, where they set down the sake.

The priestess smiled as she surveyed the alcohol, and a mischievous look appeared in her eye. "How about another drink?" she asked. Tasuki looked at her confusedly. He was quite sure she was too drunk to already be sitting up on her own, and here she was, asking for more alcohol. But, despite his better judgment, Tasuki could not resist the allure of another drink. The two drained about half of the bottles, all the time insisting that they were 'for the road'.

The bottles they had quickly consumed left Tasuki extremely tipsy and Christina completely intoxicated and drunk. They had talked about everything, and nothing, and things that didn't even make sense, but, considering the amount of sake they had both had, it had been a wonderful conversation. After they cleared the empty bottles of sake from the table, Christina slyly asked Tasuki to open a bottle, to which he laughed, and replied, "I think yer done fer th' night."

"Aww, c'mon...!" she whined, her cheeks flushed.

"Nah, let's go outside n' get some air before ya decide t' pass out er somethin'," he countered. They had to get back to the palace anyway, before Nuriko went crazy or sobered up, whichever would come first. He lifted his priestess up and handed her half of the remaining bottles, making the total count two, and then took the rest in his arms. After noticing that the majority of the sake had been drunk, he struggled up to the bar and bought replacements, then left the bar, heading towards the palace gates.

Tasuki loved every moment of it; how the world spun when he turned his head, how everything seemed to be smiling at him, how there was not a worry in the world.

Of course, Tasuki and Christina, both longing for somewhere to sit down and, in Christina's case, pass out, were appalled when they found themselves in an empty field. "Shit..." Tasuki swore loudly, although it was intended to be a mutter. He had no idea where they were, and Christina would be no help; she was from another world entirely and had probably never been in the city. What a fine job he had done with his task given by the gods; all he had to do was protect a girl, and he gotten them lost in a field in the middle of nowhere.

"Oh...screw it," Christina said, plopping herself down on the small, rolling hill. There was nothing else in sight for a while, naught but a narrow dirt road that led back towards the city. They had left the city, and had headed away from the palace instead of towards it. Tasuki sat down beside her, leaning on his elbows, one leg stretched out for support, the other knee bent up. He ran his hand through his hair with exasperation. The bandit looked down to study the bottles next to him, wondering whether or not to just down them all.

"Well...we're here...an' those bottles er here..." he said impishly, looking over at the drunken priestess, who was lying back on her elbows and staring up into the sky. Tasuki had never seen her in proper clothes before; she had always worn pairs of tight blue pants and snug shirts. It was strange to see her wearing women's robes, mostly because they didn't look all that strange on her, despite her own literal otherworldliness.

Christina hadn't answered, and the only noise that broke the silence was the rhythmic chirping of the crickets, so Tasuki leaned over the priestess to see if she was even awake. She slowly looked up at him, and whether it was because of all the alcohol she had drunk or because she was watching the sky, it seemed as if the stars had found a new home in her eyes. Her cheeks were blushed, as were her lips, from the sake, he assumed.

The alcohol helped Tasuki close the short distance between them, and before he had time to think, Tasuki felt the priestess's soft lips beneath his. He didn't like girls. She tasted sweet, like the warm sake that lingered on her lips, and he felt his hand curl around her waist and pull her closer still. He didn't need girls, they were only trouble. His other hand moved up the smooth skin of her face, and into her soft, auburn hair. What was he doing?

They pulled apart, and, with a last, surprised look, Christina passed out on the soft blades of grass, the strands of her hair still entwined in Tasuki's grasp. He gently laid the priestess's head upon the grass, then leaned over her and lightly brushed her cheek with two of his fingers, making sure she was still breathing. He quickly withdrew his hand, realizing that he had briefly become one of the men he truly despised.

Tasuki leaned back onto his elbows, wondering what he had just done. The bandit touched his lips, asking himself he if had really pressed hers beneath them just a moment ago. With a glance at her sleeping form, he leaned forward and grabbed a bottle of sake, opening it quickly and downing it just as fast. He repeated the action, working on the remaining bottles until everything around him turned to black.

o0o

The agent of Kutou had traveled for two days without stopping, and his perseverance had paid off. He had made it into Konan's capital city, and into the palace itself, completely undetected. The guards were fools; they paid little attention to even the rustling noises in the bushes. But that was expected of peaceful, unsuspecting Konan.

He had prowled around on the roofs for two more days, ignoring his tired eyes and empty stomach, watching the Priestess of Seiryuu, who appeared to be in good condition. Several times he spotted her conversing with one of the other priestess, the taller girl with darker hair and green eyes. He was disgusted that his country's priestess would even speak with such filth.

He watched the Priestesses of Suzaku as well, discovering their habits, finding their closer friends, figuring out their weaknesses. He rarely spotted the emperor, who was a fool of a boy. Of course, he was usually inside the palace, but, when the agent had spotted him outside, he was always with the shorter Konan priestess. The agent smiled when he realized that the two were in love, the godly pair of priestess and emperor. Thanking Seiryuu, the agent knew that this would be to his advantage.

o0o

The next morning, Katherine was stuck in a state of pure panic as she searched the palace from top to bottom. She had barely gotten any sleep the previous night, her insomnia back stronger than ever. With a growing headache from worrying relentlessly, Katherine's restlessness had given her an unlimited amount of free time for her to wrack her mind for all the reasons why Christina and Tasuki were nowhere to be found.

Nearly ready to abandon all hope, Katherine turned a corner just in time to see Christina at the far end of the corridor. She quickly rushed to her friend, looking for any injuries. Immediately after noticing Christina was unharmed, her anxiety turned into anger. "Christina!" she hollered after her fellow priestess, becoming angrier by the moment as she wondered why her friend had disappeared into the night, with a bandit, nonetheless.

Christina turned around, squinting her eyes, partially because of the bright, painful rays of the sun and partly because of Katherine's screaming that rattled her brain and made her cringe. "What?!" she asked in a harsh whisper as she pressed her thumb and index finger at the bridge of her nose, hoping to stop the pain.

Katherine stomped her foot and shouted, even louder than before, "You had me worried to death!"

After unplugging her ears when Katherine had finished screaming, she mockingly answered, "Okay, Mom! I'll call in next time." Katherine tilted her head and glared in response. Christina asked quietly and tiredly, "Would you please stop screaming now? I have one hell of a hangover..." She continued towards her room, hoping she could find some peace and quiet away from her worrisome friend.

Unfortunately for Christina, Katherine still wanted the answers. "Where did you go?! Nuriko said you were just getting some sake from the kitchen and you never came back! I must've checked your room about a thousand times!"

Christina immediately turned back around, a look of disbelief plastered on her face. "Wait...there was sake in the kitchen?!"

Tilting her head, Katherine's only response was "Duh." Christina was left in a state of disbelief. She had left the palace, bought at least a million bottles of sake in a tavern, and woken up in a field just to find that there was alcohol in the kitchen.

Despite Christina's astonishment at her stupidity, a sly smile sneaked across the priestess's face. "How do you know?" she accused. She knew for a fact that Katherine would have never broken the law by drinking alcohol underage, even if she was in another world.

"How did you not know?" Katherine asked return, aware that her friend had been drinking for at least a year, and couldn't believe that she did not know every hiding place for alcohol on the grounds. "Anyways, where did you go?" she continued to ask, changing the subject.

"Tasuki and I accidentally fell asleep in a field," she blithely answered with a shrug of her shoulders. She quickly realized how someone could misinterpret it, but instead of trying to rephrase it she decided to mess with Katherine's mind a bit. "...at least, I think we did."

"What?!" the presumptuous priestess shouted, completely appalled at Christina's carefree attitude about the situation. "You two fell asleep together and you don't even remember what happened?!" she continued to yell, ignoring the groan of exasperation that escaped from Christina's lips.

"Did you happen to see how much I had? That would have knocked out an elephant! Anyway, we were on our way home...and got lost..." she muttered, slightly embarrassed that she couldn't find a palace.

"Well..."Katherine continued worriedly. "Don't you know if anything...happened?"

"Hello!" Christina exclaimed as she placed her hands on her hips. "I'd like to think I would remember if I did something, thank you very much!" She couldn't believe that her friend was so worried. She hadn't done anything wrong. Christina remembered perfectly; they had gotten lost, sat down in a field, and had passed out.

"Yeah, sure," Katherine muttered sarcastically. "Okay, well let's just say that tonight I'll sneak out of my room, tiptoe into Hotohori's room, and 'accidentally' fall asleep in his bed. And tomorrow, why don't you see if 'nothing happened'. Hmm? What do you say to that?"

"I'll see you tonight," replied a deep voice. Katherine looked behind her in surprise to see Hotohori. Christina had tried her hardest not to laugh while the emperor had walked up to them, right in the middle of Katherine's ranting.

"Shit...taki mushrooms!" Katherine replied, struggling to return her heart rate to normal, which had skyrocketed at the emperor's sudden appearance. "Don't surprise me like that! Anyway, when did you become the funny one?"

Hotohori smiled, trying to hold back the soft laughter that was secretly building up. "How could I not when I'm around you?" The emperor stepped forward, lovingly looking down at Katherine's hazel eyes, a smile playing on his face. A rose-colored blush spread across the priestess's cheeks as she gazed up at her sei.

Christina stepped backwards, saying, "Please excuse me...while I puke." She took her chance to escape towards her room while Katherine and Hotohori were caught up in their moment.

o0o

The afternoon breeze was filled with a sweet melody that grew slowly, weaving through the zephyrs and the air itself. Even the birds quieted their own songs to appreciate the soothing song that filled the air with tranquility, the light notes floating up to the heavens. The flutist stood on the balcony with his eyes closed, focusing all his energy in his music. Disrupting his thoughts, he heard a soft cough, as if someone was trying to get his attention. He glanced beside him, without skipping a note, to find hazel eyes meekly looking at him.

"Um...hey..." Katherine awkwardly greeted as she quickly waved her hand and uneasily smiled.

Chiriko moved his flute away from his lips and placed it in his blue belt behind his back. "Hello," he replied as he performed a sloppy two-finger finger salute, mocking Katherine's wave.

"Yeah..." she muttered, followed by a phony chuckle at his mimic wave. "Um...can I talk to you for a minute?" She started nervously rocking back and forth on her heals, which was a telltale sign that she was either very excited or extremely worried. By the way she continued to stutter, Chiriko assumed it was the latter.

"Sure," he replied with a simple shrug of his shoulders.

"Like...in my room?" she suggested, realizing that he assumed she meant right there on the balcony.

The musician was slightly taken aback, wondering what had made Katherine so nervous and why her room was involved. "O...kay..."

Chiriko followed as Katherine led the way to her room, glancing around him as if he could have been attacked at any given moment. He slowly walked into her chambers, and then abruptly stopped; he felt another presence in the room. Before he could look around, he heard a door slam behind him. The boy whipped his head around to find the other priestess standing in front of the door with her arms crossed and glaring daggers at him, as if he had done something unforgivable.

Before he could question Christina, he suddenly felt some movement behind him. He instantly felt behind his back, searching for the flute that was there moments earlier. Finding nothing but air, he quickly turned back around to face Katherine, who had the wooden object lying across the palms of her hands. "What's going on here?" he asked in a low, gentle voice, trying not to make the priestesses more upset than they already were.

The musician suddenly heard the voice behind him say something that struck him like a dagger in the back, "You should know, Amiboshi." He quickly turned back around, finding Christina proudly standing there with her hands on her hips. She slowly started walking towards him, smirking at his obviously shocked reaction. The sei took a couple steps backwards until he realized he was walking towards Katherine, who had instantly become into his enemy, leaving him trapped. He slowly looked back around to Katherine, not wanting to believe that the priestess who had given him friendship would have known about his true identity.

Katherine, who was staring intently at the flute, felt the periwinkle eyes on her. Looking up and finding Amiboshi standing there pleading for some type of explanation, she quickly looked away, telling it all. He turned back to Christina, knowing that she was the only one who would answer his questions. "Does anyone else know?"

"Only Nuriko, but he agreed not to say anything. So you better get out, before they find out," Christina answered through her teeth, obviously trying to be civil. She took a quick sidestep away from the door, giving Amiboshi a straight path to the exit, her face showing the sei that she was in complete control.

Still wanting more answers before he left, Amiboshi stayed rooted to the floor. "How did you figure it out?"

Finally beginning to boil over, Christina let the pain she felt from being betrayed and insulted show. "Did you really expect us to believe that lameass doodle on your side was actually a mark?!"

Something didn't seem to add up in the musician's mind. "Why didn't you speak up earlier if you've known all along?" he asked suspiciously. It would have made more sense to turn him in from the very beginning than let him become good friends with everyone before confronting him. For all they knew, he could have attacked them at any given moment.

"I think Katherine should take this one," Christina calmly answered, looking past the traitor and at her best friend. She had been wondering the very same thing for a while now, and she was curious at was her friend's logic truly was. She knew that Amiboshi was a good person at heart, but she didn't understand why she had to risk her life and the lives of her comrades in order for him to be given the chance to reveal himself.

Katherine's guilt for kicking the sei out suddenly turned into pure anger at his deception. Her hazel eyes ablaze and her jaw firm, she gave him a cold hard stare before saying, "Because I thought you would have eventually told us! You are better than this! You're not a murderer, so stop trying to pretend you are one!" She stopped for a second to catch her breath and thoughts. "Just...go back to Kutou where you belong!"

The musician slowly turned towards the door, ashamed of his actions. Taking a couple steps, he suddenly remembered that his flute was still in the priestess's possession. He cautiously turned back around to face Katherine, needing to ask one last question. "Can I please have my flute back? I know I betrayed your trust. But, please, believe me when I say this. The flute was something given to me by my parents, and it's the only keepsake I have to remember them by."

Not believing her ears, Christina started to shout, "Get ou-"but before she could finish she was interrupted by her fellow priestess.

"Okay..." Katherine whispered, holding the flute out in front of her, as if it was some type of fragile object. Realizing that she was treating the already beat-up instrument with a ridiculous amount of care, she tossed the flute towards the sei and sighed in relief when he easily caught it with one hand.

"Thank you," he murmured in return as he slightly nodded in respect. Without any further questions or complaints, he quickly turned back around and headed out the door.

Christina silently watched Amiboshi leave and quietly close the door behind him before turning to Katherine, not believing her friend's pure stupidity. She slowly faced Katherine, her mouth agape, trying to recall what had happened just moments earlier. Realizing she had not imagined it, Christina whispered with much diction, "What the fuck is wrong with you?"

Shrugging, Katherine calmly replied, "I dunno, why don't you tell me?"

Wanting her friend to explain herself immediately, Christina stated, "Well, for one, you just gave our enemy his weapon."

"That's not his weapon," Katherine simply replied, giving no justification.

Becoming more frustrated at her friend's cool attitude, Christina sarcastically responded, "Oh yeah that's right, he was just gonna kill us with it. How could I possibly think it was his weapon?"

Katherine walked over to the bed, sat on the edge, and looked up at her friend with all-knowing eyes, "He won't use his flute against us. I trust him."

"Yeah, just how you 'trusted' that he would tell us his identity." She glared at the fellow priestess in return, fed up with Katherine's sudden know-it-all attitude. The way she looked at it, if there was one person who had the right to feel superior, it was her. After all, she had known Amiboshi would not have turned himself in from the very beginning.

Katherine shrugged again, "Fine, I was wrong. I made a mistake, so shoot me." Her confrontation with Amiboshi had taken all the energy out of her, and right now the last thing she needed was another fight with her best friend. Katherine was mature enough to admit when she was wrong, and obviously she had been foolish in her perceptions.

Looking up at the ceiling with a sigh, Christina responded, "I'm about this close to doing so." She walked towards the door, but stopped and turned around momentarily to say one last thing. "And by the by, you've made more than one mistake here." With that said, the priestess continued to walk out of the room and back to her own.

o0o

Amiboshi walked down the corridor to his room, ignoring the waving hello of the corner guard that he had always greeted before. But he was too preoccupied with what had happened to even bother with the charade any longer. The priestesses had known who he was all along, and he had played right into their game. The sei should have figured it out before; the girls knowing explained the cool attitude of the second priestess completely, not to mention their lack of excitement when he had appeared.

But he was lucky. They were kind, and had given him a chance to leave before they told anyone, which would most likely mean an instant death. He entered his room, closed the door behind him, and began to search for something, anything sharp. Amiboshi found a spare set of chopsticks and snatched one. It was quite blunt, but it would do for the purpose he intended. The wooden end of the chopstick left long red lines as he scraped it across the flesh of his arm. He ignored the stinging of his scratches, pressing on until he had formed one short message.

"They know."

o0o

The annoying and earsplitting sound of the internet trying to sign on sounded throughout Diana's room. Laid out on the girl's bed was her immense collection of Fushigi Yuugi manga, artbooks, and anything else that could have possibly come in handy. Next to Diana's television was a stack of videos and DVDs of the series. The Universe of the Four Gods was lying, alone, on a small end table, away from everything else.

After making a connection, her computer finally signed online, Diana went to the biggest Fushigi Yuugi site she knew. The shrine gave episode summaries, plotlines, and anything else one could dream of needing. Joan and Diana had formed a command center of sorts; anything that happened in the book could be researched, and, hopefully, they would be able to find the outcome. They would not be able to do anything else but wait otherwise, but, they could be of some help to Katherine and Christina if they could warn them about what could come.

Armed with their knowledge, Diana and Joan picked up the book again. Diana read out, "The charade of the Seiryuu warrior Amiboshi had been unmasked, and so, he contacted his brother, the Seiryuu warrior Suboshi, who found the shogun Nakago..."

o0o

The shogun felt that someone was approaching, and for an important reason. He continued to look out the large windows that lined the back wall, watching the dark sheets of rain that covered his country. Although the sun had barely risen to its highpoint in the afternoon sky, the rain had been pouring for hours on end. After a moment, a thunderclap sounded as if telling him of the person's arrival. Suboshi, the twin brother of Amiboshi, scurried into the room, holding out his arm as if he had injured himself and wanted the general to look after him.

"Yes?" asked Nakago, turning around to face the boy. Suboshi and his brother, Amiboshi, were like reflections; the same dirty-blond hair, the same innocent faces, the same build. Except for the fact that the younger brother, Suboshi, was infinitely less mature, they were identical. Not only were the two twins, they shared a special bond. The twins could feel each other; pain, emotions, everything.

Nakago had been quite surprised when Suboshi revealed that he could simply etch messages into his own skin, and they would be received by his brother, wherever he was. Suboshi bowed, still holding out his arm, where the forearm was covered in scratches. "Nakago," the boy said hurriedly, "Amiboshi has told me terrible news."

"And what is that?" asked the shogun in a bored manner.

Suboshi gulped, and then replied ominously, "He wrote 'they know.'"

Nakago paused, trying to think of the best way to handle the situation. Luckily, he had not become shogun for being a fool, and, after a short debate, he instructed, "Write back to him." Before Suboshi could ask what to write, the shogun continued, trying to keep the message short, "Do not draw attention. Wait, and then destroy them and their ceremony."

The shogun looked on as the boy struggled to scratch the message into his own arm, wincing with every symbol. They both waited, and the boy's grimace alarmed the shogun as his twin's message had arrived. Suboshi turned his arm, reading, "I..." he stopped momentarily, with a look of disbelief on his face, "can't do that to them."

Suboshi looked up at Nakago, wondering what to do. With a heavy sigh, Nakago said, "Then come back." The shogun watched emotionlessly as Suboshi struggled to etch the new message into his skin.

"I'll leave now," Suboshi read to Nakago as the final characters appeared.

"You will go to Konan and take your brother's place," Nakago informed Suboshi. The boy began to object, but was cut off as the shogun raised his hand to silence him. "Your brother does not have your determination," he explained. "He does not have the courage to save our country, but you do. Will you go?"

The boy contemplated for a moment, as though wondering whether it would be betraying his brother. He seemed to decide against it, as he nodded determinedly. "Good," replied the shogun with a satisfied smile. "I will arrange for a horse, you should be there by tomorrow if you do not rest."

"I won't," swore the boy.

o0o

It had been a long, tiring day for Katherine. She had searched high and low for Christina, told Amiboshi that she had known his true identity all along, and was left on an uneasy note with her best friend. Not the best day she had ever had. The skies had darkened, reflecting Katherine's tired mood, and washing over the bright daylight with a field of black, despite the fact that it was barely midday. The gray clouds were full to bursting and had begun pouring down rainwater as soon as Katherine had walked outside.

The priestess sat down on a bench that was just out of the reach of the rain's onslaught, hoping that it would wash her troubles away. But, unbeknownst to the priestess, someone was watching her, hidden by the sheet of dark rain as he sat, out of sight, upon the high roof above her head. The Kutou agent had been rewarded for his patience, as the priestess was alone, almost waiting for him. He would be remembered for such a feat, such a show of loyalty to his country.

He jumped down behind her, giving no noise as a warning. The priestess turned around, suddenly feeling that she was not alone. The agent leapt at her, easily wrestling the girl to the hard ground. He balled up part of his sleeve and held the cloth over her mouth to prevent her from screaming and breathing. He quickly reached into his robes and pulled out the packet that had been entrusted to him by the shogun. Emptying the packet into his hand, he uncovered her mouth, just long enough for her to gasp for air and unwillingly inhale the small, purple pill. He watched as she choked on the drug, struggling not to swallow it as he covered her mouth and nose.

The agent lifted her up and brought his hand to the back of her neck, rendering her unconscious. He laughed as the priestess drifted away into a state of lifelessness. She would be the perfect weapon when she awoke: angry, vengeful, and full hatred. He laughed to himself as he looked at the other object that had been in the packet; a tiny, dark blue stud.

Knowing what to do with the shogun's device, he pulled out the silver hoop earring that was in the girl's ear and replaced it with the new one, removing her other hoop so that it was not noticeable. The Priestess of Suzaku was now the Nakago's personal puppet. The agent had full knowledge of the purple drug he had just force-fed the priestess. It would be sure to torment her mind in the cruelest of ways. Watching the priestess already becoming uneasy in her sleep, he couldn't help but smirk when he imagined the ways in which the pill would slowly change her memories in Nakago's favor. Laughing, the agent flew back up towards the roof, where he disappeared into the falling rain.

o0o

Katherine scurried down the palace hallways, desperately trying to beat the clock and surprise Hotohori. She looked out at the landscape and felt relieved to see the sun barely peeking through the mountaintops. Carefully trying not to spill the tray of food in her hands, she strategically moved about the corridors, inching past any guard or servant in her way. She had awoken before sunrise, making sure she would be ready before Hotohori even thought about waking up, quickly jogged to the kitchen and once again made her famous pancakes and scrambled eggs.

Getting a moment to spend alone with Hotohori now seemed like Mission Impossible to Katherine. With the summoning ceremony approaching, the emperor became buried under conferences, preparations, and secretly trying to catch up with the weeks of news he had missed while traveling to find the other four seishi. This left no time for the emperor to spend time with his priestess.

Finally reaching her destination, Katherine cautiously turned around and opened up the door with her back. Lacking the free hand to knock, she continued to walk backwards, hoping she wasn't intruding on anything. "Hotohori, you awake?" she quietly asked, before turning around to face the room. She couldn't help but to smile to find her emperor soundly sleeping in his bed with a slight smile on his face. She stood there for a moment, wishing she had brought her camera, before scanning the room for a table to place the tray on. She heard a soft murmur coming from the bed, and her gaze quickly shifted to observe it. Katherine noticed some slight movement from the white sheets at the far end of the bed. She took a couple steps closer, still balancing the tray in her hand, reassuring herself that it was probably just her imagination. Curiously looking over Hotohori, observing the other side of the bed, the priestess felt her heart sink to her stomach.

Dishes and glasses shattered on the spotless white floor, destroying the daybreak silence. The emperor immediately sat up, showing his bare chest, the white sheets of his bed covering all else. In one swift movement he grabbed his sword, which was strategically placed at the side of the bed, and unsheathed it. He threateningly pointed it at where the noise had come from.

Katherine slowly backed away from the bed in pure disgust, pleading that any minute she would awake from the nightmare. With ragged breaths she managed to mutter, "Oh my god..." before closing her mouth again in an attempt to hold back her nausea. Finally reaching the wall for her support, Katherine slowly sank down to the floor, praying to any god that would listen to let her disappear.

Hotohori scanned the room only to find Katherine sitting on the floor around an assortment of broken porcelain and glass. "Katherine...?" Hotohori muttered as he placed the sword back in the sheath, wondering why the girl had shown up in his room at such an early hour. She obviously seemed shaken up about something, but his mind was too foggy from his previous slumber to realize the cause of the priestess's shock.

Katherine desperately tried to look away from the spectacle, but the only thing her eyes seem to do was widen even more as she continued to make the connection. "Oh my God!" she shouted, finally gathering her wits enough to say something audible.

Hotohori followed Katherine's gaze, slowly turning his head to look next to him on the bed. Hearing the moan emitted from the third person, who was still softly sleeping next to him, he knew that he was caught in the act.

Katherine desperately tried to catch her breath as she looked away from the emperor and down at the dirty dishes on the floor. She felt as if her mind was slowly being defiled every moment she was in room. With shaky breaths and trembling hands, she pushed herself up off the ground, leaning against the wall for support.

Seeing the disgusted and betrayed look on her pale face, Hotohori suddenly felt a pang of guilt hit his stomach. "Please, let me explain. It's not what it looks li-"he started, but was interrupted mid-sentence by Katherine slowly raising her hand.

Unable to even speak to the sei, Katherine took a deep breath before walking out the door, never looking at the golden eyes she once held dear. Softly closing the door behind her, she gave herself one last moment to shake herself from her stupor, and then sprinted down the hallways, getting as far away from the chamber as possible.

**To Be Continued...**

A/N: Happy sweet sixteen Amber, this one's for you!

_Fushigi Akugi_

Note: This is what happens after watching too many 'Pepsi Twist' commercials

The agent lifted her up and brought his hand to the back of her, rendering her unconscious. He laughed as the priestess drifted away into a state of lifelessness. She would be the perfect weapon when she awoke, angry, vengeful, and full of righteous fury. He laughed to himself as he looked at the other object that had been in the packet; a tiny, dark blue stud.

Knowing what to do with the shogun's device, he pulled out the earring that was in the girl's ear and replaced it with the new one. He took off his hood, revealing his true identity; Stanley Ipkiss, The Mask. After laying a loud smack of a kiss upon the girl's cheek, he shouted, "Somebody's...fabulous!" But, his true identity was not yet revealed.

The agent, Stanley, reached behind the green mask on his face, struggling for the zipper. He unzipped the costume and stepped out, fixing his perfectly styled blond hair and designer jeans. "That earring is just divine!" Carson shouted, his hands on his moisturized cheeks as he smiled.

The remaining cast of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy walked out, surveying Carson's masterpiece. "So cute!" agreed Jai.

"I have the best recipe for egg rolls a la Katherine!" happily exclaimed Ted.


	25. Episode 24: Lethal Passion

Episode 24:

Lethal Passion

By: Mrs. Tasuki and Nyan Nyan

"A terrible poison had overcome the Lady Katherine, turning her love to hatred. The Lady Christina and Suzaku Seven did not know what had afflicted their comrade, and-" A knock sounded, interrupting Diana's concentration from the passage she was silently reading. She quickly shut the book and hid it under a thick pile of pillows.

"Yes?" called Diana. The door opened slowly, and Aunt Claire walked inside of her niece's room, a tray piled with fresh brownies in her hands. The thick, warm smell flew through the air, curling around the girls' noses and summoning them to the baked goods.

"Do you girls want a snack?" the woman smiled. Joan nodded excitedly, the stress of reading about her little sister's continuous perils making her quite famished. Diana gave her aunt a big, flashy grin, as if to convince Aunt Claire that nothing was wrong, if not herself. Aunt Claire set the plate onto the desk that Joan was sitting in front of, oblivious to her tense surroundings. The room had been filled with worry, but the clouds of concern had evaporated as Aunt Claire entered the room. Diana's aunt left with a smile, quietly closing the door behind her as the clouds of anxiety began to creep back into Diana's bedroom.

Diana took the book back out as soon as her aunt left the room, while Joan began wolfing down the treats. "Joan!" scolded Diana, wondering how her friend could easily dismiss the danger Katherine and Christina were in at the prospect of chocolate.

"What?" Joan asked, her mouth full of chocolaty brownies.

"Just hand me manga number five," sighed Diana exasperatingly. Joan tossed the book to her friend, who opened it and began to flip though the pages, being particularly careful with the delicate binding. "Well," said Diana, "while you're stuffing your face, your sister has been poisoned with Kodoku."

"What?!" Joan exclaimed, spitting brownies everywhere as she lunged towards the book.

The palace garden was caught in turmoil; the raging storm that had fallen over the land of Konan was centered above the gardens. As if to forecast the troubles to come, the scenery of the once beautiful Konan had transformed overnight. Thunder clamored loudly as lightning streaked the air with a dangerous yet magnificent lightshow, while the rain splattered down upon the landscape as if it possessed an unspoken hatred for the usually serene gardens.

oOo

The palace inhabitants took this opportune time to busy themselves with meaningless indoor work. Everyone had locked up for the night, closing their doors and windows to prevent the vengeful rain from pouring in and ruining their cherished belongings. The unusually dreary gardens had turned into a deserted wasteland under the pounding rain, except for one solitary person, who alone dared to venture down the paths.

A call of "Katherine!" echoed through the palace walls, dancing between the raindrops as they attacked the stone roofs. Distressed golden eyes surveyed the landscape, looking for any sign of the missing priestess. The emperor's gaze glanced from the corridors to the gardens, where Katherine was known for standing out and admiring the rain, when everyone else had taken cover.

Hotohori had been sure that not even the priestess would stay out to watch the storm, no matter how magical the lightning looked, but her empty room suggested otherwise. And, as the emperor glanced around the empty landscape, he concluded that he must have been mistaken. The rain hammered down like needles upon his skin, creating a veil that was almost impossible to see through. Ignoring his instincts, the sei began to walk back towards the palace.

After taking several steps, something appeared in the corner of his eye. He turned towards the object, taking a deep breath as he told himself to calm down. Without even processing the thought to run, Hotohori had taken off running towards the thing, barely breathing as his feet moved under him. His eyes filled with worry as the object came closer and became more distinct; morphing into the form of the very person he was looking for. Falling to his knees beside her, he placed his hand on Katherine's back, taking a moment to feel her ragged breaths beneath his palm.

The priestess was lying upon her stomach, motionless except for her shallow, shivering gasps. Her right hand was desperately clutching at the grass above her head, her nails digging into the soft ground. Assuming that Katherine had collapsed from hypothermia, Hotohori gently picked up the girl and held her in his arms, trying to provide some warmth to the trembling priestess. Her white tank top clung to her skin while strands of her waterlogged hair remained plastered to her face. Light pink lips seemed the only indication of life left in her frail body, glowing out from her otherwise pallid face.

"Oh my God," escaped from Katherine's lips, surprisingly clear and smooth for her intense trembling. Eyes widening in shock, Hotohori quickly examined her face. She was obviously unconscious, yet it was as if she was speaking in her sleep. None of this mattered to the emperor at the moment; he needed to get her out of the freezing rain as soon as possible. The sei slowly rose to his feet, holding the girl close to his chest. Her right arm lifelessly dangled downward, dropping the blades of grass she was clinging to moments earlier.

Trying to hold Katherine more comfortably in his arms, Hotohori pushed her up to place her neck on his shoulder, and the girl groaned quietly. Katherine's eyes squeezed shut, as if she was trying to block out the pain before it reached her in her subconscious dreamland. Hotohori quickly cupped his free hand to the back of her head and slowly tilted it forward to observe his priestess's neck. Even though he half expected it, he could not help but gasp when he saw several large purple bruises running across the back of her neck, grossly contrasting with the pallor of her skin. "Dear Gods..." Hotohori whispered. Lifting Katherine fully into his arms and strengthening his grip around her, the emperor quickly began striding back to the palace, realizing that the cause of her collapse was not an innocent case of hypothermia.

oOo

At the precise moment her eyes snapped open, Katherine gasped for air, struggling for breath as if she had been suffocated. She slowly sat up in her bed, muttering, "Ow..." as she grabbed her head, trying to stop the throbbing pain. Assuming she was alone, the priestess recoiled at the touch of warm arms wrapped around her body.

"Thank Suzaku, I was so worried..." a deep voice whispered in her ear.

Katherine's hazel eyes widened in shock, instantly recognizing to whom the voice belonged. Preparing herself, she slowly inhaled a deep, shaking breath before looking beside her to confirm her assumption. The young emperor was sitting on the bed next to her, his arms claiming her for his own as if nothing had happened at all. 'He betrayed you...' her thoughts whispered unemotionally, a fact that resounded in the back of her mind.

"Get away..." the priestess muttered in pure disgust as she pushed his arms away, making it clear to Hotohori that she no longer belonged to him. Katherine closed her eyes and slowly scooted herself back into a corner, the sheets surrounding her like some sort of barrier, protecting the priestess from the man who had betrayed her.

Hotohori remained motionless with the exception of his slightly dropped jaw and wondering eyes that were shocked and hurt at the same time. "W-what...?" he whispered, not believing Katherine's startled reaction.

Katherine looked up at the emperor, reconsidering her reaction. His voice seemed too genuine and sincere to have the motive of confusing and tricking her. She searched her memory for any hints of a deception of her mind, but it was all too real. The betrayal, the deceit, the pain: all of them scorched in her mind, defiling it of everything she had once held dear.

The last thing she could remember was running away to gardens, trying to find some peace and sanity. Her head pounded, throbbing with pain as she tried to search further still. All she knew was that she was in the arms of the very man she was struggling to get away from. 'How dare he...he deceived you and now he thinks he can get away with it.' The girl grabbed her head, covering her ears, desperately trying to control her surroundings.

"Katherine...?" Hotohori muttered, becoming more bewildered by the moment. He needed to get Mitsukake; maybe the doctor could explain this strange behavior.

"I...I have to go," Katherine whispered, desperately wanting to be anywhere but in that particular situation. She slowly swung her legs to the side of the bed and cautiously stood up. Her shaky exhausted legs not giving her much support, she suddenly felt like the room was rocking, back and forth like a ship upon the sea. Determined to get out of the emperor's presence, she took a couple steps before she slowly started to sink to the floor. Grabbing the wall for support, she took in a couple deep breaths, trying to get enough strength to leave the room while cursing her legs for disobeying.

Once again, Katherine felt Hotohori's arms around her, trying to give her the support to stand up. "Katherine, you are very sick, you h-..." she heard him tenderly say. But she blocked out his words, paying more attention to her own thoughts. 'Now he's trying to trick you...right after he slept with-'

"No!" Katherine shouted as she grabbed her ears once again, stopping her memories before they revealed the display. She just wanted a few, short seconds of denial, just enough time to get away from him. "Get away!" she shouted to the emperor as she broke out of his grasp for the second time, holding back the tears that so desperately wanted to fall. Her fingers tracing along the wall, she continued to walk out of the room, never looking back at the baffled emperor.

Once outside, Katherine leaned against the wall, welcoming the cool, fresh air into her lungs. The rain had slowed down to a drizzle as time had passed, leaving only a calming, peaceful sound as it hit the stone roof. She started to stagger down the hallway, trying to make her way through the darkness. She wracked her brain as she tried to make sense out of the hopeless situation. Interrupting her thoughts, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked to the side and narrowed her eyes as she saw deep purple polished fingernails.

She glanced up to the owner of the odd nails and saw Christina, her deep green eyes sparkling with concern. "Hey, Katherine, you okay?" the girl asked, wondering what her sick friend was doing wandering around the palace corridors. "What happened? I heard you were-"

"Leave me alone..." Katherine scornfully muttered, quickly interrupting her fellow priestess before she had to hear one more word come out of the traitor's mouth. She swatted Christina's hand away, not wanting any more pity from the person she despised.

Ignoring her friend's warning, Christina continued to ask, "Seriously, Katherine, you don't look so well. What happened to you?"

Katherine slowly looked up, appalled at the innocent act Christina was playing. It was just an insult, brushing off what had happened like it was nothing. "You...you bitch," Katherine grumbled through her teeth, detesting the very moment she met the girl.

Christina's eyebrows rose in shock; having known Katherine for four years, she had only heard Katherine swear when she was filled with rage, and even then, it was never at her. Christina had no idea what she had done to make her friend so angry, yet she knew it must have been huge. She curiously observed as Katherine looked back down at her feet and squeezed her eyes shut as if trying to block out the nonexistent sunlight. The candlelight in the hallway accented Katherine's look of anguish as she breathed loudly through her teeth. After a moment, Katherine looked back up at her, sending chills down Christina's spine. In a split second, her friend's eyes had transformed into cold dwellings for merciless revenge.

Katherine slowly pushed herself away from the wall, clenching her fists in anger. "You slut! How dare you even talk to me!" she shouted at the top of her lungs, finding an unknown source of hate deep within her. But, as quickly as the energy had appeared, it disappeared, leaving the frail priestess stranded and tired. Katherine's eyelids closed, causing the nightmare around her to spin into darkness.

Katherine wearily fell to the floor, instantly turning Christina's shocked reaction into a feeling of concern. "Katherine?" she questioned softly, cautiously approaching the fallen priestess as if the angry mood could overtake her friend at any given moment. She slowly knelt down, unsure of what to do. Hearing soft footsteps behind her, Christina looked around to find Hotohori peering at Katherine, his eyes widening in shock.

"What happened? Is she alright?" Hotohori worriedly asked, kneeling down beside Katherine and placing his hand on her forehead. "She's not feverish..." he whispered, ruling that out as a solution to her strange behavior. "We should get her to a bed," he stated as he picked up Katherine's right arm and slung it over his shoulder for support.

Christina followed the action with the left arm. Both of them slowly rising to their feet, the priestess curiously asked, "Did she start acting all weird around you too?"

Startled, Hotohori looked over at Christina, somewhat relieved that he was not the only one that Katherine had scorned. "Yes, what did she say to you?"

"Just that I was a slut," Christina quietly stated with a shrug of her shoulders as if it was nothing, although Hotohori could tell that it truly bothered her. The two started to slowly walk to Christina's room, which was closest, in sync with one another.

"Let me go..." Katherine muttered beneath her breath, her hazel eyes sorrowfully looking down at the ground that passed beneath her feet.

Startled at Katherine's sudden consciousness, Hotohori and Christina looked down at her and decided to continue walking, realizing she was too frail to protest. "Mitsukake healed her a while ago," the emperor stated, trying to find some logic in this world of chaos.

When they reached Christina's room, Hotohori prompted the priestess to let Katherine go and open the door. Scooping Katherine in his arms, the emperor walked into the room and placed the ill priestess on the bed. "Did he mention any side-effects from the Twilight Zone?" Christina questioned as she closed the door behind them, referring back to when Mitsukake healed Katherine.

"No..." Hotohori replied, biting his lip afterwards. "He just said that she would be tired for a while," he continued, trying to recall every word that the doctor said.

"Obviously..." Christina mumbled. She looked at Katherine, who was sitting on the side of the bed, her head hanging down, obviously troubled by something.

Katherine felt like a mouse trapped in a never ending maze. With every corner she turned, she found surroundings more confusing than the last. Hotohori and Christina seemed to be completely oblivious to what the source of her anger was, making her second guess her memories, yet her thoughts told her otherwise. 'This is your chance...kill them. Make them pay. You're the victim. They had it coming. Don't believe their lies.' Gritting her teeth, she rubbed her temples, desperately trying to rid her mind of the animosity.

"I am going to find Mitsukake," Hotohori stated, his eyes never leaving the distressed priestess. He turned towards Christina, feeling a pang of guilt for being unable to console his priestess. "You stay here..." he whispered, knowing better than to leave Katherine stranded.

Hearing the door close behind her, Christina slowly approached her friend and knelt down in front of her. Looking directly at Katherine's face, she rhetorically asked through her teeth, "What the hell is wrong with you?"

'Get her...now.' Katherine looked up, her once troubled eyes instantly morphing into a bitter hazel. Without giving it a second thought, the priestess lunged at Christina, slamming the bewildered girl's head to the floor. Straddling over her, Katherine grabbed Christina's neck, watching in delight as her former friend struggled for air.

"What're you...doing?" Christina struggled to mutter out in between her gasps.

The vengeful priestess cynically smirked for a second before calmly replying. "That's funny, I was about to ask you the exact same thing this morning." Tightening her grip on Christina's throat, she slowly lifted the girl's head off the ground a couple inches before thrusting it into the tile once again. "Was it fun? Did you enjoy it? You're a special one, aren't you? Screwing with the emperor and all..." Katherine said, barely audible, several inches from the girl's face.

Christina felt Katherine's hand squeeze harder, cutting off the little oxygen she had left. She desperately dug her purple-colored fingernails into Katherine's hand, puncturing her friend's skin with bloody half-moon marks. Katherine's hands quickly recoiled, lines of blood streaming off her hand and onto Christina. She gasped for air, and, as the oxygen painfully filled her lungs, she felt the tiniest bit of strength returning to her. "What are you talking about?!" she shouted.

"Katherine!" Hotohori yelled, completely appalled at the scene displayed before him. Mitsukake rushed past him without hesitation, as if he had seen this kind of behavior before.

Still on top of Christina, Katherine quickly looked up at the emperor, who was standing, stunned, in the middle of the doorway. Her head turned to look at the second sei, scowling at the healer, who was making his way towards her. She looked back down at her bloody hands, observing the crescent marks engraved in her flesh. She slightly smirked, as if she was completely immune to the pain.

Mitsukake wrapped his arms around Katherine's waist, grabbing his wrists in the front. The priestess whipped her head around, trying to look at the healer straight in the eye, but Mitsukake's eyes stayed glued to the floor. In one swift motion, he lifted her up off of Christina, and tossed her on top of the bed.

Seizing her moment of opportunity, Christina scrambled to her feet. She slowly walked backwards, making sure there was a safe distance between her and Katherine. "So much for being tired," she whispered to Hotohori, who had made his way forward to meet up with Christina. The emperor remained perfectly still, as if his shock drowned out Christina's voice.

Grabbing Katherine's wrists, Mitsukake forced them above her head and held them there with both of his hands. "Christina, leave now. Get the sleeping medicine out of my bag," the doctor ordered, looking behind him at the priestess.

Christina stared at Katherine for a second, as if still in a daze about Katherine's insanity. She took one last look at her bloody fingernails, confirming the truth. "Okay..." she muttered, before turning around and jogging out the door, knowing that time was of the essence.

"Stay out of it!" Katherine shouted to the doctor, struggling to get out of his grip. Seeing Mitsukake become more determined to hold her in place, she looked around the room to see what her resources were. Finding the perfect object, she closed her eyes and took in a couple deep breaths, just for show. She tensed every muscle in her body, hoping they would fall for her deception. On her last exhale, she relaxed her body and slowly opened her eyes.

"Okay, I'm okay now," she whispered, barely audible, as she looked up at Mitsukake innocently. The doctor looked at her inquisitively, not sure if he should trust her. "I'm ready to listen," she stated as she slowly nodded, trying to convince him to believe her. Gradually releasing his grip on her wrists, he slowly backed away from the priestess and held out his hand for her to grab. Using his weight to pull her up, Katherine sat up on the side of the bed, playfully kicking her legs against it.

Hotohori walked a couple steps closer to Katherine, relieved yet cautious to see her acting like her old self again. Mitsukake turned around to meet the emperor, silently informing him that everything was back to normal.

Katherine tilted her head around, making sure Mitsukake wasn't looking. A slight smile appearing on her face, the sardonic priestess stood up on the bed and grabbed the large square mirror that was hanging above the nightstand.

"Watch out!" Hotohori called, instinctively moving closer, hoping to make it in time.

Mitsukake turned back around just in time to see Katherine holding the mirror high above her head. In one swift, smooth motion, she slammed it on top of the doctor's head, knocking him to the floor.

oOo

The thudding sound of the wooden floors was the only noise that penetrated the thoughts of the priestess as she walked down the corridors of the palace, feeling strangely alone. Christina did not understand; her best friend, the only friend from her home, her world, had tried to kill her. But it was more than that. Christina had looked into her friend's eyes, and had seen such anger, such hatred. And the reason that she felt alone was that the hatred was for her.

Mitsukake had told her to get the sleeping medicine, and she had gladly agreed. Any reason to get out of the room and away from Katherine seemed valid at the moment. Christina lifted up her hand and cautiously touched her neck. She could still feel the indentations, the purpled bruises that had been from Katherine's fingers, and the tight, suffocated feeling still lingered on her skin.

Down the hall Christina continued, her confused thoughts and the quick pace of her steps the only noise that she heard. She didn't even notice when her shoulder collided with another object until someone muttered, "Sorry."

Christina turned around to see Miaka standing behind her, rubbing her aching shoulder and looking at her in confusion. "Oh, sorry. Didn't see you," Christina quickly apologized, her mind clearly elsewhere.

"What's wrong?" asked Miaka, seeing the distraught look in Christina's eyes. Something was wrong, she could tell, she could feel it.

Christina faltered, unsure how to answer. "Katherine..." she began, slightly shaking her head, staring at the ground. "Something's wrong with her..." Confusion, doubt, and disbelief all swum around in her deep green eyes, the ones that had lost their usual, carefree sparkle. "You shouldn't go near her..." warned Christina, "she...she's acting strange..." Unaware that she was even moving her arm, Christina's hand returned to her neck, where the bruises still ached.

At the movement of Christina's arm, Miaka's gaze moved to the priestess's hand, where she saw the marks, still painful-looking. "What happened?" Miaka asked, astonished. She moved her hand up to Christina's neck, as if to make sure she was actually seeing the marks, but Christina pulled away, as if frightened that Miaka would attack her as well.

Sighing heavily, Christina answered, "She...well...she tried to...to strangle me...so I really don't know what's going on..."

Miaka suddenly remembered one of her nights in Kutou. It was right before she had drifted off to sleep, and right after Nakago had tried to convince her to drug Tamahome. "This drug will not poison your dear Tamahome," Nakago had told her. "Kodoku is a drug that only...manipulates emotions. Instead of desperately wishing to leave you...he may long to stay at your side." Miaka had politely refused Nakago's plan again, and had fallen asleep quickly, not even thinking about what he had said. But, the memory had suddenly resurfaced in her mind, and Miaka knew that it was for a reason.

"So...so I have to go find some of Mitsukake's medicine," Christina said, tearing Miaka from her thoughts as she began to walk away, her head down towards the floor.

"Maybe..." Miaka said slowly, causing Christina to turn around. "Nakago once mentioned to me...this...this poison called Kodoku that changes your memories...Maybe," the Priestess of Seiryuu shrugged, "maybe Katherine was given Kodoku..."

Christina could have slapped herself. Of course it was Kodoku; there was no other rational explanation. Kodoku would explain why Katherine suddenly hated Christina so much, why she struggled against Hotohori, why she was acting so psychotic. She felt like her heart had stopped, although her mind was going faster than ever, checking every angle, every possibility. But Kodoku seemed the perfect answer.

Flustered, Christina quickly began to walk towards Mitsukake's room, waving, "Thanks Miaka, I have to go!" She turned completely and began to pick up her pace, until she was nearly sprinting. Miaka watched as Christina's figure retreated down the corridor. In the back of her mind, Miaka could not help but wonder if Nakago had been behind Katherine's strange behavior. After all, it was Nakago that suggested that Miaka poison Tamahome.

Miaka was not sure if Christina had truly believed her about the Kodoku, but somehow felt that it was Kodoku that caused Katherine to act so strangely. Miaka turned back down the hallway from where she had come, knowing that she had to tell Tamahome, he had to believe her, or something terrible would happen.

oOo

Shards of glass were scattered amongst the tile, glistening in the flickering candlelight. Katherine playfully jumped off the bed and crouched down beside the unconscious doctor, making sure he wouldn't wake up any time soon. "Oopsies," she said in a meek voice with a shrug of her shoulders. The priestess tilted of her head as she lightly poked Mitsukake's side.

Hotohori silently walked backwards, towards the door, not believing the display in front of him. He immediately stopped when Katherine slowly rose to her feet, her back facing the emperor. She spun around and tilted her head when her eyes met the emperor's shocked expression. "Well, now that he's out of our way," she whispered. She looked down at the back of her hands, still streaked with her own blood. Giving her something to do as she sorted out her thoughts, she brought her thumb up to her mouth and quickly licked it before rubbing the blood off of her hand.

Hotohori suspiciously watched as Katherine calmly wiped the blood from her hand. "Who are you?" he muttered, knowing that this couldn't possibly be the same girl he had given his heart to.

Katherine slightly smirked at the question as if she'd known it was coming. "I'm your love," she said in the most sincere voice she knew of, before letting her insanity break through once again. "Your lovey dove, your lovely dovey love," she continued in a sing-song voice as she innocently looked up at the ceiling. In split second, her emotion changed for a third time, her eyes narrowing into pure disgust. "That is..." she whispered. She took in a deep, shaky breath, filling her lungs with burning hatred, "Before you ripped my heart out and stomped on it!"

Katherine knew she had the advantage. First of all, there was only one lantern in the room, and, unfortunately for Hotohori, it wasn't near him. Secondly, the priestess was in the perfect frame of mind for a fight, whereas the sei seemed confused and too perplexed to even think straight. And, most importantly, Katherine knew that Hotohori would never draw his weapon against her. Of course, she couldn't be too sure of the last one, after all, she obviously wasn't his dream girl anymore.

Her eyes narrowing, Katherine scanned the room once again, searching for the perfect weapon for her next victim. The lantern on the nightstand cast an almost eerie glimmer off an empty crystal vase. Not the best weapon in the world, but it would have to do. And with Katherine only a few feet away from the nightstand, it would be easy to grab before the emperor could even blink.

Katherine glanced at Hotohori one last time, making sure that he would not make any sudden moves before she did, and then she returned her focus to the sparkling vase. In one swift movement, the priestess grabbed the glittering object and hurled it towards the unsuspecting sei. Half expecting it, Katherine was not surprised to hear the unsheathing of a sword and the clamor of crystal shattering in midair. Slightly smiling, Katherine couldn't help but to observe the shower of glistening crystal, sparkling from the light of the lantern, as if they were sent from the heavens.

The solitary door creaked open. Hotohori looked behind him, hoping to find salvation. Glad to know he wasn't alone anymore, he greeted Tamahome with a hasty nod. Tamahome quickly nodded in return and stepped into place beside the emperor. "What happened?" Tamahome whispered, his eyes scanning the room. The shattered glass, the unconscious doctor, the emperor's distressed look; this was much more complicated than he had expected.

"I...I don't know..." Hotohori muttered in return. For the millionth time, he searched his memory for something, anything that would cause Katherine to come so enraged. Once again, he found nothing. "It seems that she's in some sort of a trance," he continued, barely audible, as if he was telling himself instead of Tamahome.

Miaka, who was standing just outside the door, cautiously peered inside, curious about the commotion. But, the moment Katherine spotted the priestess, a sinister smile crept across her face. "Does the emperor want another priestess for his trophy case?" Katherine asked mockingly. "After all, she was the original, wasn't she?"

"What?" Tamahome inquired, slightly shaking his head at the confusion of it all. He shot a quick glance out the door to see that Miaka looked utterly perplexed as well.

Katherine scowled, and snapped, "This is none of your business, you stupid little hero-boy." The deranged priestess turned back to Hotohori and slightly opened her mouth, ready to tell him that the fury that flowed through her veins was because of him. But, giving it another thought, she just bit her lip, deciding that she would not waste her breath on someone like him.

Tamahome cautiously approached the puzzled emperor, knowing that at any moment Katherine could attack him, just as she did Mitsukake. "Miaka seems to think that Katherine's been affected by something called Kodoku," he informed Hotohori, his eyes never leaving the merciless priestess.

"What?" wondered Hotohori, baffled, as he took his eyes off of Katherine and stared at Tamahome.

"Kodoku..." Tamahome said, "it seems to affect a person's memories..." Hotohori looked back at Katherine, wondering if it was Kodoku that was affecting his priestess.

After a moment, the emperor answered, "That's impossible." Tamahome gave Hotohori a questioning look, and the sei continued, "I have been with her ever since Mitsukake healed her. If she had been poisoned, it would have happened hours ago, well before Mitsukake cured her of any illness."

"Maybe the drug is immune to his powers..." suggested Tamahome with a skeptic shrug. All of the sudden, a quick pattering of feet sounded down the hallway, like tapping fingers, and Christina appeared in the doorway, a small drawstring bag clutched in her hands.

After surveying the room, which was covered with chards of broken glass and crystal, not to mention Mitsukake's unconscious form, Christina screamed, "What happened?!" She gingerly stepped forward, past Miaka, being careful to avoid any glass, and trying not to make any sudden movements, as if Katherine was some sort of predator.

Christina handed the small, coarse cloth bag to Tamahome. Looking over his shoulder, Tamahome said, "Miaka, go get Chichiri."

"Okay," replied Miaka with a determined nod, glad that she could be of help in the strange situation. She immediately ran down the hallway to find the sei.

"We don't really need more people in here..." Christina whispered to Tamahome, wanting to keep their problem as simple as possible.

Tamahome replied quietly, "Chichiri can read life forces...maybe he could tell us what is wrong with her."

"Tamahome," Katherine said, and every person in the room turned to listen. She continued coldly, "You are not involved. It would be in your best interest to leave, unless you wish to end up like your comrade, Mitsukake."

"Why are you doing this, Katherine?" Hotohori asked worriedly.

"Is it not obvious?" Katherine replied haughtily, obviously delighted at the emperor's stupidity. "You betrayed me, and for that you will die, Emperor Saihitei."

Realizing that Katherine's choice of words seemed all-too-familiar, Christina whispered to Tamahome, "Why is she talking like Nakago?"

"I don't know," answered Tamahome, keeping his eyes trained on the priestess, "she wasn't like this earlier."

"This isn't making sense," Christina sighed to herself. She slowly and carefully sidled over to Hotohori, making sure not to expose her back to her fellow priestess. "Nakago is controlling her," whispered Christina into Hotohori's ear. "She needs to snap out of it now, before it gets worse."

"How can this be done?" wondered the emperor.

"I don't know," Christina shrugged, "kiss her or something."

"What?" His eyes left Katherine for a split second, making sure Christina was actually serious.

"Just trust me," replied Christina confidently. "Next time you have a chance, kiss her."

"Enough of this foolish talk," commanded Katherine. "Let us end this now." She walked over to the nightstand, which stood in the corner of the room. She slowly approached the lantern, knowing that it was the only source of light in the small room.

"She's not going to..." Tamahome began, but was cut short when Katherine blew out the light, thrusting the room into sudden darkness.

Christina mumbled, "I guess that answers your question." She blinked, trying to gain her vision in the pitch black. The quiet sound of crunching glass sounded around the room. A sudden fear crept over her. Katherine was being controlled by Nakago, and so, it was as if Nakago was the one in the room, creeping about in the shadows. Shivers ran up and down the priestess's spine as she moved along the walls, trying to find the lantern without running into her former friend.

There was a loud thudding noise, accompanied by a moan of pain that was so quiet that none could tell where the noise came from. "You bastard!" a yell sounded around the room, reverberating off the walls. Christina frantically ran her hands up the wood of her nightstand and searched for the lantern, afraid of what would happen next.

Suddenly, the entire room was immersed in a bright blue light. Once the blue flash faded away, a small, glowing light was coming from the door. Christina turned around to see what had happened. Katherine was lying against a wall, slumped in the corner. On the opposite side of the room, Tamahome was helping Hotohori stand up from where he had been lying. Miaka and Chichiri were standing in the doorway, and it was Miaka who was holding the tiny lantern.

Chichiri breathed heavily, clearly showing that he was the one who caused the blast, and looked around the room tiredly. Katherine groaned and struggle to sit up from her place on the floor. "Katherine!" cried Hotohori when he saw her injured form.

Holding the emperor back, Tamahome advised, "No, don't." Christina walked over to stand beside Tamahome and Hotohori and found that a long, jagged scratch ran down the emperor's face, from his left eye to his chin.

"What happened?" asked Christina worriedly.

Hotohori stated quietly, "You suggested that I try kissing her." He carefully reached a hand to his face, touching the wound, and then looked at the long streak of blood on his hand.

"How did she cut you?" Tamahome asked, looking from the emperor's bloody hand to the long cut that had covered the left side of his face in blood.

"With a shard of glass," answered Hotohori quietly. He stared past Tamahome and Christina, worriedly watching as Katherine shuddered upon the ground, wondering if she was all right.

"I apologize for taking so long, Highness. It was difficult to locate Katherine's life force...it seemed...obscured by something," Chichiri said as he walked beside the emperor and surveyed the damage in the room.

Squinting her eyes in pain, Katherine felt consciousness and pain slowly creeping up on her. She placed her hands in front of her and slowly pushed up against the floor, feeling ever muscle in her body ache as she tried to reach a sitting position. Feeling slight stinging as she moved lifted her hands off the floor, she slowly looked at them, seeing shards of glass embedded in her skin. She listlessly sighed as she slowly tried to move one of them out with her index finger, slightly twitching when she realized it only caused more blood to drip down from her already red-stained hands.

Hearing someone coming closer to her, Katherine quickly looked up to find the blue-haired monk carefully approaching her with some type of pouch in his hand. She ignored the aching sensation that was sent throughout her body and quickly stood up and tried to make fists with her mutilated hands. Watching the monk slowly nod, Katherine gave him a questioning look, wondering what he was signaling to do. Before the priestess could look around her, she felt strong hands wrap around her arms and mercilessly pull them behind her. She screamed out in pain, her arms feeling like they were being stabbed with thousands of needles. She looked behind her to find the other blue-haired sei, Tamahome, using all his strength and focus to keep her still.

Chichiri opened the pouch, pulled out a small round object, and placed it on his palm, holding it in place with his thumb. Katherine opened her mouth for a second, to question the monk's intentions. Seizing his chance, the sei quickly thrust his sleeve over her mouth, forcing her to swallow the pill. The drug instantly taking effect, Katherine's body became limp as she fought to keep her consciousness. Knowing that the priestess could no longer attack, Tamahome lessened his grip and slowly brought her to the floor, watching her hazel eyes becoming distant in the candlelight.

Overwhelmed with the feeling of déjà vu, Katherine closed her eyes for a moment, searching her memory. Ignoring the throbbing in her head, she was instantly sent to the palace garden. She was sitting on the bench, contemplating about Amiboshi, Christina, and everything else that had caused her to become so troubled. Then something happened...something her mind would not let her remember. Before the sedative pulled her into oblivion, she remembered the sweet scent of lilacs.

oOo

Katherine stepped into the summoning room, her heart suddenly in her throat and her stomach in knots, as the gigantic gilded doors swung open to reveal the interior. A sweet calm melody filled the air, sending a warm wave of relief to Katherine. The priestess heard the gargantuan doors slam behind her, interrupting the soft music that floated throughout the room. The priestess's stomach filled with lead as she leapt up in surprise, startled by the finality of the closing doors. But the flute resumed its quiet tune, mixing along with the sweet chirping of the tiny red birds that soared their way through the rafters, winding their way like thread through a needle's eye.

The denim of her shorts rustled with each step she took down the long, scarlet carpet that led to the altar. One top of the alter she saw a large fire, Illuminating the dark room. The flames of the sacrificial urn danced and twirled, licking at the air as the tiny, scarlet birds twisted their way through the blaze. Katherine looked around the gigantic room to see that she was alone, except for the one. At her side stood a tall mysterious figure, who was wearing a dashing, dark cloak. The hall seemed endless, empty, and she feared that any noise would echo for eternity.

As Katherine walked down the red carpeting, her heartbeat quickened to match the pace of her steps, hammering against her chest with anxiety. The priestess was halfway to her goal, and every step of her brown rubber flip-flops was muffled in the velvety carpet. Suddenly, the somber, peaceful flute music stopped, and was replaced by another sound. The music was vengeful, angry, full of hatred, and, as it played, it began to rain, filling the room with the clean scent of water.

The cold raindrops started slowly at first, spotting Katherine's white tank top like ripples in a pond, but quickly began to pour down. The rain pounded down on her shoulders, her face, and began to drown out the noise of the flute music. Finally, the rain stopped, stranded in midair, so that she could see every raindrop in place. The tiny teardrops began to elongate, forming teeth, claws, and tails.

As if the gods had continued time, the dragon raindrops fell to the ground angrily, but Katherine knew her task. She pressed on, struggling through the pounding rain to reach her final goal, to reach the sacrificial urn. The tiny birds began to cry out, not sweetly, but almost as if they were in pain, suffering through the onslaught of rain. Before Katherine's hazel eyes, the bird's bright, fiery red feathers began to change, turning with the color of the rain until they were a deep, royal blue.

But Katherine paid no mind, for she had finally reached the end of her journey, the end of the red, carpeted walkway. She placed her hands upon the sides of the urn, where the great fire had died out. Slowly, the priestess peered inside to see that the urn had filled with water. Her reflection, the face of the priestess who had come before her, stared back at her; large, dark forest green eyes, an innocent, smiling face, her hair, though usually put up into two twin buns, was intricately pulled up with a large golden comb.

Katherine's gaze moved from the reflection of Miaka up to the one at her side. He lifted his gloved hands up to his face and pulled off the black hood that had covered his face. Stepping closer to Katherine with a smile, the emperor gently stroked her cheek, and surveyed her clothes. It was then that Katherine realized her soaked white tank top had turned into the sacrificial gown meant for the summoning ceremony. His eyes moved down her figure, from the golden necklace and hair comb to the intricate red silk dress that she was clad in. Hotohori's eyes moved lower still, down to her wrists, where twin golden bracelets jingled from inside the gauzy white sleeves, and down to her waist.

"Is he really the one?" wondered the priestess as she watched him look over her, as if she was struggling to pass an inspection. She wondered if she was truly the one he wanted, or if it was the real priestess who held claim over his heart. Was he meant to be with Miaka? Or Houki? Am I anything more than a priestess? Katherine asked herself.

The emperor's gaze fell back to her face, and he gently put his hand near the top of Katherine's neck. He carefully pulled out the tiny, dark blue stud that was in her earlobe, and tossed it into the water of the urn, where it sunk to the bottom with a quiet plunk. The priestess leaned back over the urn and looked inside to see her reflection, still vibrating with the ripples of the earring. Her own face stared back, her own hazel eyes and wavy hair.

Her eyes strained to see to the bottom of the water, but all that she could spot was the tiny blue birds that flew above her head, reflecting in the clear water. The priestess looked back up at the one who had brought her. Her beloved emperor had instantly transformed into another being. It was the one who had brought her to this fantasy world, complete with his ceremonial yellow streaks around his eyes and the celestial mark upon his forehead. The human form of Suzaku took her hand, and began to lead her back down the carpet and towards the door.

"You've made more than one mistake here," Suzaku stated quietly. Realizing that it was the last sentence that Christina had said to her before she left, Katherine could do no more than stare at him, looking from his feathery red hair to his otherworldly garments. But she did not dare look at his face, knowing that he was right. The rain stopped, and the birds were silent, so no noise echoed in the summoning hall except for the jingling of Katherine's gold jewelry and the metallic sound of Suzaku's red and gold armor as he walked at her side. The doors slammed shut, and all was black and dead.

Startled by the sudden clamor, Katherine whipped her head around to look Suzaku in the face but found that the god was no longer at her side. In his place stood a figure, all shrouded in the black robes that had been previously draped over the emperor. Although no words were exchanged between the two, the figure's icy glare spoke of cruelty and hatred.

Following her first instinct, the frightened priestess turned around and darted towards the closed door, knowing salvation was on the other side. As the floor beneath her feet past her, she noticed the door eternally stayed in place, never coming closer, never allowing her to reach the other side. Katherine peered over her shoulder and found the cloaked man mockingly standing in place, rooted to the floor, forever the same distance from her. Turning her focus back towards the door, Katherine suddenly tripped and toppled over a mysterious object, an object she knew was not there a second ago. Sitting up from her sprawled position, she rubbed her throbbing head and glared at the wooden bench that had caused the fall.

The fragrance of lilacs filled the air. Katherine turned her head to discover the lovely plant, standing proudly next to the palace bench. Her eyes twinkling, Katherine slowly reached out to touch the purple flower, sparkling dew drops from the previous rain. But once her finger tips touched the soft petals, flames engulfed it, as if the wrath of hell had come to seek its revenge.

Gasping in horror, Katherine struggled to retreat from the blazing fire and found that the cloaked figure was standing behind her. With another gasp, the priestess staggered backwards from the man. But the moment she moved, the mysterious man disappeared, vanishing into the darkness of the room like a shadow. Katherine looked around, her gaze bouncing around the empty room as she searched for the man's whereabouts.

Taking one last step backwards, Katherine immediately knew she had taken one too many. A firm hand covered her mouth, and the man shoved a thick piece of fabric in her mouth that prevented her from breathing. A bitter taste formed in her mouth, and she shakily swallowed to rid herself of the aftertaste, but it was to no avail. Of course, she couldn't spit out the pill, she wasn't allowed; not until her task was complete. As the priestess struggled for breath, a blinding darkness washed over her eyes, and she fell to the cold, rain-drenched ground.

**To be continued...**

AN: This episode is dedicated to DENO! You rock! He helped us go through this episode and find all the passive voice. GO DENO! Okay, I think I'm just going to keep on saying his name for a while because I like how it sounds. Go Deno! Go Deno!...

**Fushigi Akugi**

The door opened slowly, and Aunt Claire walked inside, a tray piled with fresh brownies in her hands. The thick, warm smell flew through the air, curling around the girls' noses, summoning them to the baked goods. "Do you girls want a snack?" the woman smiled. Joan nodded excitedly, the stress of reading about her little sister facing continuous perils making her famished. Diana gave her aunt a big, flashy grin, as if to convince her that nothing was wrong. Aunt Claire set the plate onto the desk that Joan was sitting in front of, oblivious to her surroundings, and left with a smile, quietly closing the door behind her.

Diana took the book back out as soon as her aunt left the room, while Joan began wolfing down the treats. "Joan!" scolded Diana.

"Yeah, hand them over, no da!" a chipper voice sounded from the corner of the room.

"Chichiri! What are you doing here?!" Joan screamed in surprise, pointing to the overly-cheerful monk.

"I wanted some brownies, no da," the sei answered as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

Both girls were silent for a moment, looking at the blue monk incredulously. Chichiri walked over to the plate casually and started munching on the delectable brownies. "Mmmmm, no da..." the monk muttered, a look of relief washing over his face.

"So you came all the way over here...for brownies? What's so great about these brownies anyways?" Diana asked in disbelief.

His mouth full of the seemingly innocent baked good, Chichiri exclaimed, "Well, they're 'special' brownies, no da!...no da...no da..."


	26. Episode 25: Revealed Seductions

Episode 25:

Revealed Seductions

By: Nyan Nyan and Mrs. Tasuki

Author's Note (Nyan Nyan): I would like to right now apologize to the delay of the previous couple episodes. Mrs. Tasuki came down with a serious case of mono. I'm the last one left on the Daydream's Embrace team who hasn't had mono yet! Yay! Anyways, not only is one of us sick, but Mrs. Tasuki found a job and I found a permanent job and a seasonal job on the side. Well, enough of our excuses, on with the chapter!

oOo

The jingle of reins and the squeaking of leather were the only noises that filled the air as the boy neared his destination, the capital city of Eiyou. He had traveled through the night without stopping to eat or sleep. As Nakago had said, he was too close to the end of his quest to waste time on such trivial tasks. The sei wondered if he would see his brother leaving the city, a failure."I'll finish them for us, Big Brother," said the boy, his head held high, laughing at the gods who cursed him and his brother. He glared at the city, imagining his enemies on their knees. "I'll bring honor back to our family."

oOo

Katherine's head pounded relentlessly. A low murmuring floated about the room, and the priestess opened her eyes, finding herself in her own bed. Pale sunlight streamed through the window, telling her that it was late in the afternoon.Sleepily, Katherine looked around, surprised at the amount of people that were standing in her room, watching her. Beside her bed sat Christina, who was in a chair that had been scooted back far enough to allow a quick escape, but close enough to make her nervous. Mitsukake and Tamahome were sitting in identical chairs at the far end of the room. The doctor's head was bandaged with gauze in several places, and Tama, his faithful cat, was lying on the doctor's lap, sleeping soundly. As Katherine struggled to sit up, Christina jumped, sliding her chair back, trying to stay as far away from her best friend as possible.

Hotohori was standing at the foot of Katherine's bed, also watching her warily, a look of sadness upon his face. Stunned at the scratch on the emperor's precious features, Katherine's eyes focused on a long, painful-looking wound that ran down the side of his cheek. His hand was set protectively upon the golden hilt of his sword, a threat to any who opposed him.Katherine reached her hand up to her ears, feeling a strange itching, and found that her favorite tiny hoop earrings had been removed. The priestess swung her legs off the side of the bed and began to stand up, but hit her head on a solid force above her. With a loud bonk, Katherine fell back onto her mattress, rubbing her head in pain.

"I put up a barrier," Chichiri solemnly informed, leaving out his cheerful 'no da.' He turned his gaze to the opposite side of the room, where Christina was now standing between Tamahome and the door.

Katherine looked around the room, wondering what had overcome her friends. Why were they holding her hostage? Katherine thought maybe she was still dreaming, trapped in a nightmarish illusion. She lifted her hands and touched the barrier again, making sure that it was not her imagination. However, it was not the barrier that surprised her but the bandages wrapped around her hands. The stunned priestess slowly unraveled one of the ends, wincing in pain as it peeled off her bloodstained flesh. Katherine cautiously turned her hands upward, inspecting them, not believing the mutilated hands actually belonged to her.

Before she could ask one of the thousand questions swarming around in her head, Tasuki strolled into her room, proclaiming loudly," So that's where ya are! Havin' a party without me?" It was then that Tasuki spotted Katherine, tapping on the barrier that surrounded her. "What th' hell is goin' on here?" the bandit demanded, looking around at everyone in the room.

"Help me Tasuki!" Katherine yelled out as she pounded her fists upon the barrier, ignoring the pain every time her wounds hit the invisible wall. "I don't know what's wrong with them!"

Tasuki stepped forward to help Katherine, wondering what his comrades were thinking, but Hotohori stopped him. "Do not go near her, Tasuki," the emperor warned sternly, his hand still upon the hilt of his sword.

"What?" Tasuki questioned, utterly baffled by the entire situation.

Chichiri explained, "Katherine has not been herself lately..."

Katherine once again banged her hands against the barrier, shaking her head. "I don't know what they're talking about!" she insisted. "I just woke up! I didn't do anything!" Tasuki watched as everyone in the room turned towards Katherine, skeptical expressions upon their faces.

Christina said nothing, but simply shook her head, not believing Katherine would deny everything she had done. In one night, Christina's best friend had strangled her, smashed a mirror over Mitsukake's head, and attacked Hotohori. How could she deny any of it ever happened?

"What th' hell are ya guys doin' holdin' Katherine hostage like that!" Tasuki questioned angrily as he strode over to the other side of the room. He pounded on the barrier that surrounded Katherine, who had frightened expression on her face. "Chichiri!" Tasuki yelled, "What do ya think yer doin'!"

"Get me out of here!" pleaded Katherine.

"Tasuki," repeated Hotohori, slightly stepping foward, "Do not go near her."

"Yer all crazy!"

Katherine cried again, "I didn't do anything!" Christina gave Katherine a look of disgust, not believing her nerve.

Tamahome stood up, his face empty, as though the emotions had been wiped away. He looked older, like a great weight had settled upon his shoulders. "Katherine," he sighed solemnly, unable to find the words. He had been the first person that Katherine had met in Konan, and, over time, he felt as if he held full responsibility for the girl. Tamahome stifled his emotions, knowing that the words had to be said, for Katherine truly believed she had done no wrong.

"You nearly strangled Christina," stated Tamahome, not able to look his friend in her unknowing eyes, "and then you slashed Hotohori's face with shards of broken glass from the mirror you broke over Mitsukake's head." He stepped closer to the bed and questioned, "How can you say you didn't do anything? Especially to them?"

Katherine shook her head as she sat down, overwhelmed by what Tamahome had told her. It couldn't be true. She would never do anything to hurt her friends. Katherine was the one who had been truly betrayed, by her best friend, no less, and now it seemed they were accusing her. "First of all," she whispered shakily, "I didn't do any of that." Her eyes beginning to burn with tears, Katherine turned and pointed accusingly at Christina. "She's the one who slept with him!"

The entire room seemed to freeze as everyone turned to Christina, who had a look of complete confusion upon her face, her eyes wide with shock. "What!" Tasuki shouted, sure that his ears deceived him.

"It told you! I saw them!" Katherine yelled angrily.

"Wait...who?" asked Tamahome, baffled.

Her eyes filled with hatred and pain, Katherine spat, "Christina and Hotohori!" Gasps of surprise sounded throughout the room as the seishi, eyes wide and jaws dropped, all turned as one to gawk at Christina. Katherine's rage was justified, pigs were flying, and hell had frozen over.

The slow creaking of a door broke through the hush that had fallen over the room. Nuriko entered, asking, "What's everyone doing in here? I was looking for you!"

"Nuriko!" shouted Katherine, quickly turning towards the door, where the sei was standing. She yelled, "They're holding me hostage! Get me out of here! Please!" thinking that Nuriko, with his Herculean strength, could easily break Chichiri's barrier,

"What's going on here?" inquired Nuriko.

Tamahome stepped forward, blocking Nuriko's path to Katherine. "Trust me Nuriko, Katherine had this coming."

"I didn't do anything!" Katherine repeated. "Christina's the one who slept with him!" She angrily pointed towards Hotohori, hoping that at least Nuriko would believe her.

"What!" screamed Nuriko, utterly taken aback. He already accepted the fact that he had lost his love to one priestess, but losing to two girls from another world was a completely different story.

"Stop saying that!" shouted Christina angrily.

Katherine turned from Hotohori to Christina and yelled, "It's true!"

"Katherine..." Hotohori said quietly as he looked at the girl, "I assure you, nothing happened between us." He held out his hands, a gesture of truth, and prayed that she would believe him.

"How can you deny something I saw with my own eyes!" she angrily cried. "Why would I lie about something like this! Do you think that I wanted to see you...to see both of you! Give me one good reason why I would lie about this!" She slammed her fists into the invisible barrier, desperate to release her pent up anger and sadness.

Tamahome slowly walked up towards the bed, his fingers tapping together as if he were a lawyer. A look of skepticism on his face, he asked, "Chichiri, can you do me favor?" The monk nodded and walked to Tamahome's side, wondering what the sei would ask. Chichiri noticed that Tamahome had quickly grown up, and was glad to see that he was taking the lead. "Could you sense Katherine's life force?" Tamahome asked barely above a whisper. Chichiri nodded and held two fingers in front of his face.

"What's he doing?" asked Katherine, wondering what her once friends would do to her next.

"Besides being a bit disturbed, her aura seems normal, no da," the monk stated. He brought his hand back to his side and looked to Tamahome, curious at what the sei would do next.

Tamahome took one step towards Katherine and ordered, "Take down the barrier."

"Gladly, no da," answered the monk.

"Are you kidding?" asked Christina as she jumped out of her seat, her eyes wide. "She's going to go crazy again!"

"Says the slut," Katherine muttered angrily. The two girls glared at each other, their fists clenching with anger and hatred. Chichiri hesitantly glanced back to Tamahome, wondering if the barrier should truly come down.

Tamahome nodded in return, and the barrier disappeared. Christina took a few, frightened steps backwards, trying to keep distance between Katherine and herself. Katherine slowly stepped off of her bed and onto the floor, everyone, with the exception of Chichiri, Tasuki, and Tamahome, uneasily stepped backwards. "That's it!" shouted Katherine. "I'll prove that I'm telling the truth!" she exclaimed as she ran towards the door. Before she bolted into the hallway, she gave one last steel cold glare at Christina, sending chills down the poor girl's spine.

"What th' hell is wrong with you guys!" Tasuki yelled, wondering what his fellow seishi could possibly be thinking.

"Could someone please tell me what's going on here!" Nuriko questioned angrily.

oOo

"Let me see the blasted book!" Joan yelled angrily. She jumped up and down in a, vainly attempting to reach The Universe of the Four Gods, which Diana was currently dangling above her friend's hands.

"No!" Diana shouted, yanking the book up just in time to keep it out of her friend's grasp. "I'm reading it!"

"Well, she's my sister!" Joan shouted angrily. She clenched a fist to punch into Diana's stomach, but her friend jumped aside.

"Exactly!" Diana said. "That's why I should read it! You'll do something stupid like...try to rip it in half!"

"I will not!" the girl declared stubbornly, her hands on her hips.

"You will too, and you know it! So, just shut up so I can read it!" Diana yelled.

"What did you say!" Joan angrily inquired, stepping back into her fighting stance, her fists held out threateningly. "I can take you easy! Wanna try? How about we fight for the book then, huh?"

"You just proved my point," Diana stated. "So. I'm going to be reading."

Joan sat down with a huff, and Diana walked across the room and sat down on the rolling computer chair. She took a deep breath and began to read the paragraph that was slowly appearing."The seishi and the priestess removed the Lady Katherine's earrings, unknowingly giving back her mentality. When she awoke, the Lady Katherine quickly ran from her chambers, leaving the warriors and her fellow priestess behind. With her memories of the tragic illusion still haunting her as if it were a reality, she fled down the hallways of the palace of Konan, until she reached the great chambers of the emperor..."

oOo

Tasuki secretly followed Katherine until she had reached the main doors that lead to the emperor's private section of the palace. He hid behind a pillar as the guards opened the heavy doors for the priestess. The bandit approached them casually; only to be stopped by two long crossed spears, denying him of his entrance.

"Only the emperor and the most elite of advisors are allowed in here," one guard greeted in an conceited tone.

"Ya just let someone in that was neither," Tasuki snapped back.

"And who would that be?" the second guard answered, curling his lip.

"Th' Priestess of Suzaku."

The two guards glanced at each other, holding back their laughter. The first looked back at the orange-haired fool and answered, "Naturally, the priestess is granted access to wherever she pleases."

Flashing his trademark smirk, Tasuki asked smugly, "An' her seishi?"

"I assume they would be granted access as well. Tell me when you see one." The two guards looked at the boy with the same arrogant smile plastered to their faces.

"Yer lookin' at one." The sei pulled down his sleeve, showing the glowing 'wing' mark on his forearm.

The cocky smiles immediately disappeared from the guards' faces. They uncrossed their spears and knelt as quickly as possible. "We are terribly sorry for the inconvenience, Sir Tasuki, please accept our deepest apologies."

A large smile spread across the bandit's face. Looking up at the ceiling and casually scratching his neck, he answered. "Ah, it's no problem, I guess." He looked back down at the guards, putting his superior status to good use. "Just make sure it never happens again," he said through his teeth, with mock anger. Striding past the guards he proudly opened the huge doors, savoring every second. Before the doors were completely shut, he reached his hand through the crack. "Keep up the good work," he stated degradingly, patting the guards on the head.

Hearing the two doors click shut, Tasuki turned around and faced the most private, guarded, and unknown section of the palace. The corridor contained several rooms including Hotohori's private office, chambers, and a small conference room meant for the emperor and his chief advisors. The bandit's solitary pair of footsteps echoed down the palace's secluded hallway. Knowing Katherine must be somewhere, the sei watched for any sign of the distressed girl.

"I'm a bandit, dammit. Don't be so nervous," Tasuki mumbled, trying to calm himself. Taking a deep breath, he regained his confidence and continued to stride down the hallway in search of Katherine. He passed by a large room where both doors had been left wide open, as if enticing him to enter. Curiosity getting the best of him, he could not help peering into what could have been the largest room in the palace. Finding a perfectly made white bed, adorned at the top with large, fluffy pillows, and a bare nightstand holding only a lantern, he knew that the room was the emperor's bedroom. Taking a small step inside, he noticed that the chamber reflected nothing on Hotohori's personality, besides the couple of swords mounted on the wall. Walking slowly on the spotless white floor, the bandit looked around in awe at the unrealistic perfection the room held. "Shit..." the bandit mumbled under his breath, not believing one person could need a room so large.

"It's...gone..." a voice muttered, snapping the sei out of his stupor.

Looking in the direction the voice came from, Tasuki was taken aback to find the person he was looking for. "Katherine?" he questioned, wondering what she was doing in the bedroom. He cautiously walked up to the obviously dazed girl, who was kneeling next to the nightstand and staring blankly at the floor.

Katherine turned her head and looked at Tasuki. "It's all gone..." she repeated.

Walking closer to the troubled girl, the sei nonchalantly asked, "What are ya talkin' about?"

Looking back at the floor, she slowly rose to her feet, questioning everything she had been so sure of just a few minutes ago. Her eyes never leaving the tile, she explained, "I dropped the tray when I found them. The dishes shattered. Food went everywhere." She looked at Tasuki for a moment, before bringing her attention back to the floor. "There was red wine on the tray. The wine splattered against the wall. It would have left a permanent stain."

"Wine fer breakfast?" Tasuki questioned, unaware of the significance of Katherine's observation. "Oooo, seducin' th' emperor while he's still in bed," Tasuki teased, trying to lighten the mood, only to be met with a cold glare. Realizing that this was not the place or moment for jokes, he muttered, "Sorry," while scratching the back of his neck.

The two stood in silence for what seemed to be an eternity. Snapping out of her deep contemplation, Katherine turned to Tasuki. "What are you doin' here anyways?" she asked, trying to take her mind off of the world of confusion happening around her.

Caught off guard, Tasuki nervously scanned the room, as if it possessed some sort of hidden answer to the off-topic question. "I...um..." he stuttered, wondering why he had followed her. "I got tired of listenin' to those assholes feedin' Nuriko and me all this bullshit 'bout kodaka."

Katherine froze, eyes widening. "Do you mean Kodoku?"

Oblivious to Katherine's revelation, the sei shrugged, "I guess."

"What did they say?" she asked, anxiously looking up at Tasuki.

Finding Katherine's reaction a bit melodramatic, Tasuki questioned, "What difference does it make?"

"A lot. Okay?" Katherine answered, trying to suppress her growing impatience.

Catching the edge in her voice, the sei answered, "They just kept on goin' on 'bout how last night you went all psycho on them, and there was a huge fight in Christina's room." He stopped for a moment, surprised to see Katherine's face frozen in shock. "What's the big deal, anyways? It's all bullshit, right?" He had a hard time believing that Katherine would attack her friends. The priestess definitely had short temper, but violently attacking someone seemed inconceivable for the usually harmless girl.

Katherine snapped back into reality, her shock dissolving. The bandit definitely had a point. She would never kill Christina and Hotohori, even if they had betrayed her. "Yeah...I mean, I would've remembered something like that." Chills shooting down her spine, she remembered Tamahome had no idea what he did while he was drugged in the series. Why would it be any different with her? "Oh, shit-taki mushrooms!" she shouted, sprinting out of the room.

"Where th' hell are ya goin'!" Tasuki hollered after her, following her out of the bedroom and down the hallway. He chased her for a several minutes, nearly passing the hallway where she had turned. Before he had gotten too far ahead, he walked back to see her standing outside of Christina's room, her eyes wide as she stared inside.

Katherine slowly walked in, and stopped to lean on the doorway in her shock. "Oh my god," Katherine whispered as she gazed at the chaos that had overtaken her best friend's room.

The sheets on her bed were twisted around and flung to the other side of the room. The remains of a broken mirror were tossed at the foot of the bed. Broken glass was scattered, covering the floor like tiny drops of water. Two servants were walking around the room, attempting to clean up the damage, but it seemed as though the task would take all night. "Holy shit," muttered Tasuki from behind Katherine. Katherine walked inside, not even paying attention to the bandit as she stared at the room in disbelief.

"Priestess," acknowledged the two servants with deep bows.

Katherine nodded back to the two women and said flatly, "You're excused..."

"Yes, your eminence," answered the first of the servants as they both bowed again and quickly scampered out of the room.

Tasuki silently closed the door as soon as the servants left and slowly walked up to Katherine's side. "...Did you?" the bandit asked quietly.

Katherine looked around that the damaged room again, shaking her head. "I...I don't think so..."

"Then who th' hell did!" Tasuki asked angrily.

"I don't know!" Katherine shouted back.

Tasuki crossed the room and picked up a large square frame, a few pieces clinging to the side. He watched as several small slivers of glass shattered as they hit the floor. "I guess we know where all th' glass came from..." Tasuki muttered sarcastically.

"Oh my god..." marveled Katherine, "I did do this..." The girl stepped backwards, shaking her head in disbelief. She suddenly remembered what Tamahome had said when she was still trapped in the barrier. "I...I slammed the mirror on Mits's head!"

"Why would ya go an' do somethin' like that!" Tasuki asked, completely flabbergasted.

"I dunno!" Katherine answered, "You heard them, I was psycho-freak!"

"But Mitsukake!" Tasuki shouted, "What'd he ever do t' ya? No wonder th' guy's scared of everyone!"

Katherine answered sarcastically, "Well, at least I was blessed with Captain Obvious to point that out!" Katherine heard the abrupt sound of crunching glass and turned around to see Nuriko standing motionless, like a deer caught in headlights.

"I...I was just...well..." the purple-haired sei faltered.

"Seein' if Katherine was really a psycho?" Tasuki added helpfully.

Katherine stepped in front of the bandit, trying to ignore him. "I'm not gonna attack you, honest engine," Katherine promised, raising her right hand.

Nuriko nodded at Katherine, who smiled at the prospect of at least one person trusting her. "So, Hotohori and Christina...did they really...s-sleep together?" Nuriko inquired uneasily.

"I don't know…" Katherine answered slowly, not expecting the question.

"But, you said that you saw them," Nuriko said, wondering whether or not Katherine's tale was valid.

"Well..." replied Katherine, "Just because I saw it, doesn't mean it's true." Had she been poisoned with Kodoku? That would mean that everything she saw, everything she felt had been a lie. It would mean that Christina and Hotohori had been telling the truth, and that she had mistrusted and attacked them.

"So you really believe you were drugged?" inquired Nuriko, who was not very convinced about the theory of Katherine being poisoned.

"Let's just say I have previous knowledge of Kodoku…" Katherine hinted as she openly winked at Nuriko.

"Oh!" said Nuriko, understanding that there had been Kodoku in the legend inKatherine's world. "I see!"

"Wait..." Tasuki said baffled. "What's that supposed t' mean?"

Nuriko put his hands on his hips and answered, "It's not like we're speaking in code."

"Well, then why I don't I get what yer sayin'?" Tasuki shot back.

"Maybe you're just stupid," Nuriko smiled. Tasuki gave Nuriko an angry glare, mumbling to himself.

Katherine ignored the two fighting seishi, looking around the room for any clues. "Holy crappoli..." Katherine said quietly.

"What?" Tasuki asked. Katherine slowly walked over to one of the walls and knelt down. She hesitantly placed her right hand on a bloody print upon the floor and gasped as she realized that the prints matched.

"That proves it...I must've done this." She shook her head, erasing all of the doubt in her mind.

"What does that have t' do with anythin'?" Tasuki asked, hovering above her.

"No two people have the same handprint..." Katherine explained, slowly standing up. "I have to go..." she said as she headed towards the door.

"Go where?" questioned Tasuki.

"Anywhere but here," answered the girl, quietly shutting the door behind her.

Neither Tasuki nor Nuriko followed Katherine, knowing that she wanted to be alone. Instead, the seishi awkwardly stared around the room, trying to imagine that Katherine had been the one who had caused the damage. But, it was impossible. "Ya think she's foolin' us?" Tasuki asked as he kicked at the glass on the floor.

Nuriko answered quietly, "I don't know. She seems to be herself...just...confused. But they did say she tricked Mitsukake earlier..."

"I don't care what ya think. She looks normal t' me!"

"Then why did you bother asking?" Nuriko demanded.

Tasuki opened his mouth to answer the sei, but stopped as the door opened, revealing Hotohori. The emperor entered the room cautiously, making sure not to step on any of the glass. He looked from Tasuki to Nuriko, then sighed, "I thought Katherine was with you."

"She was earlier," answered Nuriko. "But she just left."

"Whaddya want anyways?" Tasuki asked arrogantly, as though the emperor was nothing more than a bother. The bandit did not want to let Hotohori get away with cheating on Katherine, with Christina of all people, the girl's best friend. He was determined to make the emperor pay, even though everyone else believed his story.

"She left...by herself?" Hotohori asked Nuriko, ignoring Tasuki's rude question.

"She's a free person, ya know. Not somethin' ya can just throw away..." Tasuki answered.

After shooting a look of warning at the bandit, Nuriko replied, "I think that you need to talk with her, your Highness." Nuriko stopped as he said 'highness'; the word seemed almost too formal. It was a strange relationship between Hotohori and himself. They were comrades, celestial warriors who had saved each other's lives time and time again. But when they returned to the palace and Hotohori donned his royal robes, he was still the emperor, and Nuriko was once again nothing more than a courtier. "The spell that was on her last appears seems to be gone," Nuriko finished.

"Katherine still believes that something happened between Christina and me," Hotohori murmured quietly. He did not want to force her to speak with him. He would prefer if she came to talk when she was ready.

"Ya mean ya fucked 'er brains out?" Tasuki asked heatedly. After the time he had spent at the palace, he was still wondering how the emperor managed to run the country. He didn't even have the courage to admit a mistake he made. Pathetic. Tasuki stuck out his chin in a nod, challenging Hotohori to find the nerve to answer him.

"Tasuki," Nuriko warned with a harsh glare, "I think it would be best if you left...right now."

"Hey!" replied the bandit, crossing his arms over his chest. "I'm a free person too!"

Nuriko quickly lifted Tasuki up by the collar of his big black coat and walked across the room while firmly holding the struggling sei in his grip. He opened the door, and threw the bandit out. Tasuki slammed into the tile floor of the hallway with a loud bang and looked up to see the door slammed in his face.

With an indignant, "Fine then!" Tasuki climbed to his feet and brushed the dust off of his pitch black overcoat. "See if I care," he added as he walked off, angrily scuffing his feet. A strange scratching sound reached the bandit's ears as something red went flying down into the garden, landing next to a tiny rosebush. Curious about the object, Tasuki quickly jumped over the balcony railing, where he landed in the soft, wet earth. He bent down to see that he had been kicking a small, red-beaded bracelet.Tasuki looked back down to see a path of small, footprints in the dirt which had half filled up with the rain that had fallen earlier that night. He followed the line of prints until he came upon an area of the garden he had not seen before.

Sighing, he looked around for any sign of human life. Thinking his was alone, he turned back towards the palace before hearing a soft murmur. Glancing around, he spotted a solitary figure, walking around one of the benches. He listening closer for the low muttering that was coming from the figure, like a stream of babble from a madman. Tasuki approached the small figure until he saw it was none other than Katherine.

He snuck closer, using a certain sort of stealth that he had learned to possess and found a nice hiding spot behind a tree. If Katherine looked at him, she probably would have spotted Tasuki right away. But she was too distracted mumbling to herself, and Tasuki was able to listen quite easily as she babbled on. "Okay," muttered Katherine, "I was standing right here…" She pointed right towards the ground as if trying to see the image in her mind, and then continued, "I was thinking about Christina…because she said I made more than one mistake. Oh! So I was thinking about all the crap I screwed up, mostly Amiboshi…" She began snapping her fingers quickly, as if trying to accelerate her mind along with the beat. "So I sat down right here!"

"What kind freak talks t' herself?" muttered Tasuki sarcastically, not realizing the irony in his statement.

The distressed girl immediately stopped and plopped down on the bench, losing all hope. It seemed as if whatever she had forgotten she was not meant to remember. The memories were gone forever, along with the love of the emperor and the trust of her best friend. Katherine could not let herself be defeated so easily; she tried to remember one last time. "What happened...?" she asked herself. She closed her eyes to rid herself of any distractions, pleading for any hint to help her retrieve what was hidden in the darkest depths of her thoughts.

Tasuki, who was still peering from behind a tree trunk, slowly approached Katherine, wondering if he had found a good time to interrupt her. As he walked towards her, he held out the bracelet like some kind of peace offering. Katherine held her head in her hands, as if she was exhausted by the struggle to remember. "Hey, Katherine?" Tasuki greeted. She didn't move. The bandit walked up to her and nudged her on the shoulder. "Katherine?"

Katherine's head slowly slid down her hands, until her whole face was covered by shadow. A cold chill ran down Tasuki's spine, triggering an instinct for him to slowly back away. Was Katherine going to attack him? Even after he defended her and believed her when no one else would? Just when he was about to seek some help, he heard a soft moan and placed a hand on Katherine's shaking shoulder. "Ya okay?"

Flinching at his touch, Katherine looked up at him, her eyes glassy with tears. "My head...hurts..." she muttered, barely audible, as she rubbed her temples. She brought her legs up and huddled in the corner of the bench. "Tasuki, please..." she begged in a weak child-like voice.

Panicking, Tasuki looked around the gardens to see if anyone was within hearing distance. Realizing that they were deserted with no help at all, he placed his arm around Katherine and eased her off the bench. Once she was in an upright position, Katherine placed her arm around Tasuki's neck as he wrapped his arm around her waist and guided her towards the palace. "C'mon, we gotta get ya to Mitsukake," he told her, but they had only taken three steps before Katherine started to sink to the ground.

Before Katherine hit the ground, Tasuki scooped her up in his arms and walked over to the nearby tree he had been hiding behind. He carefully set her down, leaning her back against the trunk. Realizing she was becoming pale, the bandit cupped his hand around her cheek. "Katherine, can ya hear me!" He waited for Katherine to answer, to respond in any way, but there was only silence.

"Oh, shit!" the bandit exclaimed as he darted towards the palace, knowing that time was quickly running out for Katherine.

**To Be Continued...**

AN2: This episode is dedicated to...Robyn! Yay! She was the first person to ever IM us about the story! Happy belated Birthday, Robyn!

AN3 (Nyan Nyan): By the way sorry for all the ANs, but please read them. Yay! I'm a beta. You can read the fanfic I'm editing. It's called "What if it was Different?"

**  
Fushigi Akugi**

Christina quietly leaned against one of the wooden railings of the palace, where she was silently staring up at the stars and thinking. She still could not believe that her best friend could really distrust her so much. She would have thought that Katherine would have at least listened to her. The awkward sound of someone clearing their throat came from behind the priestess, and she turned around to see the emperor standing behind her.

"Oh, Hotohori!' Christina greeted, startled by his presence.

"Were you thinking about what Katherine had said...?" the emperor asked solemnly.

"You mean about...you and I?" she faltered, unable to find the words while Hotohori's deep brown eyes were staring into hers.

"Yes."

Christina turned her eyes back to the stars about, and softly laughed, "Crazy, huh?" Hotohori walked up and stood beside her, his gaze also up to the sky.

"Absolutely," he agreed.

oOo

The door that led to the emperor's chambers flew open, and Hotohori stumbled inside, with Christina in his arms, her legs wrapped around his waist and arms thrown over his shoulders. They stopped in the doorway, although their mouths did not pause, and the emperor stepped forward, resting Christina's back against the wall. The priestess laughed quietly then leaned forward for another kiss.

As the emperor carried his priestess across the room to his bed, their lips never parted until he set her down upon the foot of the bed. Christina smiled seductively and quickly pulled her shirt over her head while Hotohori followed suit and began to undress himself. The emperor stepped forward and lifted Christina into his arms, causing her to laugh out loud at their seriousness. He gently tossed her down at the foot of the bed and moved over her for another kiss.

Suddenly, the rustling of sheets filled the air and Hotohori looked up at the top of his bed to see that the covers had been thrown off to reveal two other people, none other than Katherine and Tasuki. Christina rolled over and looked on in shock as Katherine gasped, "Two words…pay…back…"

Tasuki sat up and smirked, "That's one word."

Katherine looked over at Tasuki and ordered, "Shut up, bitch!"


	27. Episode 26: Guarded Trust

Episode 26:

Guarded Trust

By: Mrs. Tasuki and Nyan NyanIt seemed as though Nuriko had just tossed Tasuki out of the room and returned to a civil conversation with the emperor when the door was thrown open. Who else but Tasuki stood, leaning upon the door, completely out of breath. "Tasuki!" scolded Nuriko, "I thought I told you to ge-"

"There's something wrong with Katherine!" gasped Tasuki, the last few minutes was a blur in the bandit's mind.

"What!" demanded both Nuriko and Hotohori worriedly. The emperor immediately ran to the door, pausing to let Tasuki lead the way, and Nuriko quickly followed behind.

"She's down by th' bench…" Tasuki answered, pointing at the seat in the center of the garden.

"What is wrong with her?" Hotohori asked, running faster until his strides matched that of the bandit.

"I dunno," answered Tasuki honestly, "She just got all strange-like…"

At those words, the emperor stopped in his tracks, causing Nuriko to nearly slam into him. "What do you mean 'strange-like'?" inquired Hotohori.

"What?" asked Tasuki as he also stopped and turned around. "Are ya kiddin'? C'mon, we gotta go!" Nuriko and Hotohori glanced ominously at each other, refusing to move an inch lest Katherine's crisis was another trap. "Gods!" yelled the bandit lividly, "You two er impossible! Katherine's out there dyin' er something an' yer afraid she'll beat ya up!" He shook his head angrily, and shouted, "Well, t' hell with both of ya," before turning and running back to where he had last seen Katherine.

Hotohori and Nuriko stood still and watched the bandit disappear into the gardens. Nuriko suggested, "We should get Chichiri to make sure she's back to normal..."

"He just said 'dying'," Hotohori said quietly. He gave Nuriko a look that seemed full of disappointment, and then quickly hurried to follow Tasuki's path. Even though a world of confusion and doubt seemed to haunt him relentlessly, he always knew Katherine was the one for him. Somehow, someway, He knew she would overcome whatever was controlling her, no matter what the cost. But what if the cost was her life? Suddenly, everything running through the sei's mind halted as he saw Tasuki kneeling on the ground in front of Katherine.

Hotohori's body and mind froze. The air in his lungs stopped, along with everything else in the world. Everything turned to slow motion, like they were immersed in water. "What happened?" yelled the emperor as he rushed to the girl, kneeling down on the cold, wet ground beside his priestess.

Katherine's skin was a pale, sickly white color, and beads of cold sweat slid down her forehead as she trembled, leaving tiny rivers of sweat down her face. Her eyes were closed tightly, as if she was straining to block out a nightmare that troubled her, and her mouth was open, allowing words and phrases of nonsense to be muttered under her breath.

"I dunno," Tasuki answered worriedly, "She wasn't like this b'fore!"

Hotohori quickly turned to Nuriko, who had obediently followed the emperor, and ordered, "Find Mitsukake!"

"Yes, your Highness," whispered the lavender-haired sei as he jumped up and ran off.

Tasuki roughly grabbed Katherine's shoulders, vainly trying to stop her from convulsing. "Katherine, c'mon! Wake up!" he shouted. He turned to Hotohori, his fangs bared angrily, like some sort of wild animal. "Are ya happy now!" he yelled, "Look what ya did!"

Hotohori jumped back as though he had been bitten, his eyes wide as he processed the comment. He would never purposefully do anything to hurt Katherine; he loved her more than she would probably ever get the chance to know. But Tasuki was right. The filthy, cursing, drunken bandit had seen what the emperor could not.

The fact was it did not matter if she purposefully did anything. He had not even believed Katherine when she looked him in the eye and swore that she had not done any wrong. Her eyes were so filled with hurt and sorrow, so sad that he did not believe her, so betrayed, and he did not even listen.

Hotohori leaned Katherine against the side of the tree, cupping his hand around her cheek and holding her shoulder. "Katherine! Please, wake up!" he desperately shouted. Seeing no change in her face, he slowly picked her up and placed her on the ground. Sorrowfully looking at her, he picked up her trembling hand and softly kissed it. "Please, I...I love you. I don't care if you never forgive me. I just..." he paused for a moment, searching his mind for the perfect words. "I just want to see you happy," Hotohori finished as a solitary tear slid off his cheek and unto her face.

"...tears?" Katherine whispered as her hand stopped trembling and became limp.

Realizing the girl's body had become almost deathly still, Tasuki rushed to her side, relieved to find her chest still rising and falling. His voice overwhelmed with joy, he yelled, "Yeah! She's snappin' out of it! C'mon buddy, say somethin' else!" He waited a moment, and then looked at the emperor incredulously when he didn't respond. The emperor's eyes were closed, his seishi mark glowing brightly. Tasuki rushed over to Hotohori's side shouting, "Shit! Not you too!" He waited several seconds before scrambling to his feet, his eyes never leaving the motionless couple. Something strange was going on, and Mitsukake was taking forever to arrive.

oOo

Once again in the ceremony room, Katherine stared into the golden eyes of Suzaku. He expressed such sorrow that it seemed to pierce right through her. Her heart ached for a second time, wishing the dream would stop haunting her. "Please…what do you want? Why am I having this dream again?" she asked the god, her hazel eyes sparkling with tears. Everything about the dream was identical to the previous time she experienced it. Miaka's reflection, the basin of fire, the rain pouring from above. It was as if she was watching a movie twice.

"You've made more than one mistake here," Suzaku stated quietly. The words cut through her like a blade. It was the second time the god expressed his disappointment in her, and Christina had said the same thing. Katherine looked away from the golden eyes, streaked with ceremonial yellow paint.

The doors slammed shut, shutting off the source of light. Katherine looked around, pitch black surrounding her. Unable to see, she waved her hands in front of her, searching for anything to grasp a hold of. "You must start choosing your own path," the god's voice echoed. Her eyes shifted about the room, noting the sudden change in the dream's sequence as she placed a strand of her rain-soaked hair behind her ear. Her breath quickening, she stepped forward, lost to where the dream would take her next.

A cold chill ran down Katherine's spine. There was someone else in the room; she could feel it. Trembling, she fled for her life into the darkness, knowing that the presence had to be the figure draped in black shrouds. Seeing nothing, she continued to run, hearing the man's footsteps come faster and louder, hoping that an exit was near. She felt the figure grab her arm, forcing her to swing around and face him. Her breath trembling, she stared at the tall silhouette in front of her. Wanting to see the man who had caused her so much grief she looked into his face, only to find it was overcast by a shadow from the cloak's hood, as if it was fate that his face would remain a mystery.

"I...I love you," echoed throughout the room.

At that moment, the figure gently took the girl's hand and placed it on his cheek. Biting her bottom lip, Katherine slightly tilted her head, a strange feeling of sympathy running through her body. As cool droplet of water hit her fingertips, she whispered, "...tears?" This was not the black shrouded creature she had once been running away from.

With her free hand, Katherine slowly reached out and removed the hood covering the man's face. She smiled slightly as the man moved her hand to his lips and lightly kissed it. "I would never do anything to hurt you," he whispered, his golden eyes sparkling with tears.

"…I know," the girl replied, looking at her feet shamefully. All the fighting, the attacks, were because of an illusion. There was nothing she could say or do that would redeem her. In a second's time, she realized that, instead of trusting what she knew, she almost killed the two people loved the most.

Seeing the look of regret on the girl's face, the man placed his hand under her chin and slowly lifted her head. "I love you and only you."

For the first time, Katherine knew what it was like to live for someone, to finally be the person she wanted to be. When Katherine was with him, she wasn't worried about the future or everything that needed to be done. She knew that it was for the gods to decide and all she had to do was try her best. Hotohori had always had the courage to tell Katherine how he felt, but she had never said anything in return. Katherine drew in a deep breath, searching for the words she had known all along. "I love you too."

oOo

In a state of panic, Tasuki stared blankly at the motionless couple, as the seconds slowly tick away. Katherine was still muttering under her breath, and Hotohori's mark glowed brilliantly. Just when the bandit was about to dart off in search for the still missing doctor, Hotohori's seishi mark began to fade. Seconds later, the emperor slowly opened his eyes, a slight smile growing on his face. Tasuki looked in bewilderment at the man. What was there to be smiling about? Katherine still hadn't snapped out of the trance. The moment the thought ran through the bandit's mind, Katherine's eyes snapped open as she gasped for air. "Shit!" the bandit exclaimed as he jumped backwards, eyes wide with surprise.

Katherine looked around her in bewilderment, soaking in her surroundings. She was on the ground, which was obviously still wet from the rainstorm. Hotohori was kneeling beside her, his hand on hers, while Tasuki looked at her as if she was a ghost. Her head was pounding and felt like it weighed a thousand pounds. "What happened?" she asked, still catching her breath. Tasuki turned his head towards the sound of pounding footsteps against the soft ground. He rolled his eyes at the sight of Nuriko and Mitsukake approaching him, two seconds too late.

They rushed up to the sei, eyes filled with worry. "Is she alright?" Nuriko wondered as he looked past the bandit and at Katherine, who was still lying on the ground.

"Yer too late," Tasuki greeted with a victorious grin on his face, "Hotohori-sama already saved th' day."

Ignoring all the commotion bustling around him, Hotohori pushed a strand of Katherine's hair behind her ear. Gently rubbing her hand with his thumb, he asked worriedly, "Can you stand?"

"I think so..." Katherine whispered as she placed her hands on the ground, preparing herself to push off it. But before she had the chance, Hotohori scooped her up in his arms and carried her towards the palace, abandoning the other seishi. "Hotohori?" Katherine questioned.

Hotohori looked down at her with the same golden eyes she had grown to know and adore. "Yes, Katherine?"

She leaned her head into his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart. "I love you," she softly whispered.

Smiling in return, Hotohori softly stated, "I know. I heard you the first time."

oOo

The boy pulled back on his horse's reins, and the stallion whinnied shrilly as it slid to a quick stop, scattering pebbles and dirt onto the cobblestone streets. He jumped off of his steed, leaving the horse alone, and began to walk towards the main gate to the palace entrance. The guards at the gate quickly bowed at his presence and greeted him, "Sir!" The doors to the great gate were flung open, and the warrior stepped inside, where an advisor was already awaiting him.

"Where is my brother?" inquired the boy, looking around the empty halls in hopes of seeing his younger sibling. The moment he had entered the palace walls, he had realized that Suboshi was not there, for his ki had disappeared completely.

"L…Lord Amiboshi?" inquired the advisor while he bowed shakily.

"Where is Suboshi?" asked the boy again, still looking around as if his brother would appear out of nowhere.

"Lord…Lord Nakago said that…" the advisor murmured in amazement.

"If you don't know where my brother is, then tell me where to find Nakago," said Amiboshi, too hurried to bother with a servant's stuttering.

"Lord Nakago is…is in his chambers…" answered the advisor as he pointed a shaking hand down one of the many empty halls. Amiboshi nodded to the man, and then quickly walked to where the shogun's chambers were.

As the boy stepped outside the gilded doors to Nakago's chambers, the doors swung open to allow him access. "Come in, Amiboshi," Nakago's voice called flatly. The boy stepped inside, quite disturbed when the doors shut themselves behind him.

"Nakago," inquired Amiboshi, "where's my brother?"

"Completing the task you could not," replied the shogun coolly.

Amiboshi frowned and stepped forward, struggling to see the expression on Nakago's face, which was shrouded in darkness. "What do you mean?"

"You have failed," answered Nakago, "so your brother has taken your place."

"How could you send him there!" Amiboshi asked angrily. His brother's safety was most important, and Amiboshi had reached an agreement with the priestesses of Suzaku. What if one of the seishi found that his brother was one of the Seiryuu seishi? Suboshi would be killed immediately. Amiboshi shouted, "You send him to his death!"

Nakago stepped out from the shadows, a cold expression of heartlessness upon his face. He strode past Amiboshi, uttering not one word. As if the cold steel could sense the Shogun's presence the doors opened, and the sei walked out of the room. The doors slammed behind him, and Amiboshi rushed to them and struggled to pull the door open.

The door would not budge. "Nakago!" yelled Amiboshi, "Nakago, let me out!" He banged his fists against the door, knowing that his seishi power, his great celestial abilities, were of no use. He slammed his fist against the door only last time in desperation, quickly realizing his last chance to save his brother.

Amiboshi walked to the other side of the room and searched for something, anything sharp. He found what he was looking for upon a table; some unlucky servant had left one of her hairpins lying around. He quickly grabbed the pin and began to scratch into his left forearm 'Come home'.

Ignoring the slow, throbbing pain, the warrior finished his message and waited for a reply. He paced around the room until a sharp scratching on his right arm caught his attention. Amiboshi turned his arm over to see the reply from his brother. 'It's too late'.

oOo

Sitting on top of an unmade bed, Joan and Diana huddled together, both pairs of eyes glued to the black text appearing before them. Joan was frantically biting her nails as Diana restlessly twirled her blue-tipped hair around her finger, neither of them noticing their nervous habits. "'Trapped in an illusion once more, Lady Katherine fled for her life, trying to escape from the haunting nightmare, '" Diana muttered, reading the text to herself. Joan glared at Diana, losing track of the line she was reading. Not noticing pair of icy blue-gray eyes, Diana continued, "Whereupon, she found the Suzaku sei Hotohori, who had come to her rescue."

"Would ya stop?" Joan grumbled through her teeth.

Snapping back to reality, Diana looked over at Joan. "Stop what?" she questioned, her bright blue eyes looking at her friend innocently.

"Your mumbling! What else!" Joan yelled. The stress of reading about her sister's turmoil in life-and-death situations was taking a toll on Joan's nerves. She was just inches away from punching a hole through Diana's wall.

Her eyes turning from a bright blue to a dark navy, Diana exclaimed, "Well, if wasn't for you biting your nails I wouldn't have to read out loud! Do you know how hard it is to concentrate with a constant 'crunch crunch crunch' reverberating through your ears!"

Proudly standing on top of her friend bed, Joan assumed her trade-mark fighting stance. "Well, I'm sorry if I'm sooo hard to read with!" she mocked.

Jumping off the bed, Diana stomped her right foot for emphasis. "Hey! Who said you could stand on my bed!" She glared at her vertically challenged friend, now almost eye-to-eye. Joan hopped off the bed, almost landing on Diana. Taking a quick step backwards, Diana grabbed the book from on top the bed. "Okay. Obviously both of us reading this isn't working, so I'll just read it aloud. Okay? Okay," she rattled off, speaking too fast for any human to understand.

"Huh?" Joan asked as she squinted her eyes, trying to decipher the jumble of words her friend has just uttered. Sighing loudly, Diana placed a strand of her blue-tipped hair behind her ear.

"I'm...gonna...read...this..." she restated slowly, mocking Joan, as she held the book up.

Her gray-blue eyes becoming wide with anger, Joan yelled, "Why should you get to read it!"

"Because I'm taller," Diana stated simply as she held the book above her head out of Joan's reach. Ignoring the jumping midget, she continued to read, "'The Lady Katherine stated her love for the emperor...'" she paused for a second, biting her lip as she silently reread the line. Eyes wide with surprise, she turned to Joan, who as frozen to the ground in shock.

"She...what!" Joan screamed, not believing what her little sister had just declared.

oOo

The soft, sweet melody of birds chirping filled the hot, sticky air. Their song sounded slower, as if the sparrows themselves were too overheated to sing properly. Katherine looked up at the afternoon sky, where the sun was blazing a stifling heat upon the city of Eiyou. Fanning herself with one hand, Katherine walked over the soft grass, hoping the movement would get her mind off the blistering heat. With every step she took, her mind became more entranced with the small, cool, azure pond she was walking towards. As if her body was hypnotized, she walked closer to the body of water, wanting more than anything to dive in, clothes, shoes, and all, if only to escape from the heat for one moment. When she reached the edge of the water she stopped, taking a moment to look down at her reflection and reached her hand out to touch the identical girl's face, mesmerized in her thoughts. As her fingertips touched the cold water, tiny ripples spread through the surface, banishing the reflection like a bad dream.

"Hot, ain't it?" a voice greeted from nearby.

Snapping back to reality, Katherine's head shot up in the direction of the voice. She smiled to find Tasuki laying on one of the rocks, hands intertwined behind his head as a makeshift pillow, legs splayed out roguishly. She giggled slightly as she made a connection between the bandit and a lizard, sunning itself after a meal. "Whatcha doin'?" Katherine asked as she playfully stretched her fingers towards the sky.

Glancing in her direction, Tasuki answered, "Nuthin'. Stop distractin' me."

Smiling, Katherine approached the sei and sat down next to him, getting lost in her own thoughts, enjoying the silent company. She looked over Tasuki, who was dozing off, exhausted from the day before, and noticed a large clay bottle sitting next to him. Deciding that the bandit probably wouldn't care if she took a little sip of his water, she picked up the bottle and let the soothing liquid fill her mouth. As it washed over her tongue, Katherine realized that it was not cool, clean water, but some type of vile drink. "Blah! Nwah! Bleh!" the girl shouted as she rubbed off her tongue.

Snapping out of his dreamlike state, Tasuki turned on his side, laughing loudly at the naïve priestess. "Haha! Too strong fer ya, eh?"

"You could've told me it was sake!" Katherine coughed, glaring at the bandit.

Staring at the sky, he absently stated, "Wow, ya an' Christina sure are different."

"Gee, thanks," the girl answered sarcastically, reclining back on the soft grass.

"Nah, that's a good thing. Like two sides of th' same coin, if ya know what I mean."

Katherine rolled on her side and looked up at the sei, who seemed rather lost in thought. "Speaking of Christina, do you like her?"

Surprised by the off-topic question, Tasuki sat up and scratched the back of his neck. "Yah, I guess...she's alright," he answered. He looked at the priestess, eyebrows furrowed, wondering what type of answer she expected.

Katherine couldn't help but to smile at his confusion. "No I mean, do you liiiike her?" she asked again, hoping that the extra emphasis on the word would help the poor bandit.

"Yaaaaah, she's alright," he answered once again, wondering if the priestess had swallowed any more drugs.

Sighing loudly, Katherine flopped back down on the grass, covering her eyes with her hands, hoping that no one could truly be that oblivious. "Never mind, you're hopeless"

Tasuki laid back down against the rock, squinting at the bright blue sky. "Okay, whatever. So why'd ya come out here anyways?"

"I was hot, and the pond looked so nice. Where I'm from it never gets this freakin' warm!" she exclaimed, plucking at the shirt, praying for any type of relief from the heat wave. She paused for a moment to look at the bandit, the same bandit who believed in her so much the other day, even when the man she loved hadn't. "Actually, I kinda wanted to thank you."

"Thank me fer what?" he asked, still gazing at the sky above him.

"You know..." The girl paused for a moment, thinking of how to put it without sounding unbelievably corny. "For believing me when no one else did," she finished as she rolled her eyes, knowing she had failed. Biting her bottom lip, Katherine waited for laughter to come spewing out of the bandit's mouth.

"Nah, it was no big deal," Tasuki sighed.

Glad to be taken seriously, Katherine smiled in response. "But, it is a big deal!" she exclaimed. "Even though I was totally wrong, it's nice to know I can count on someone to believe me."

Tasuki still didn't understand why she was thanking him. He did what he thought was right, that was it. If anything, she should be yelling Hotohori for not believing her, instead of thanking him for doing what any decent person would do. "It was no problem, just stop getting' all sappy on me," he muttered, avoiding eye contact.

Realizing Tasuki could only take so much sincerity, she couldn't help but grin. "Okay, fine. I'll shut up." Katherine laid back down against the grass, her mind returning to her own thoughts. The once overbearing heat now seemed like a nice warm blanket as she started to drift off to sleep. Several minutes passed as she drifted from a light doze into a full slumber.

"So, you're all cured, right?" an abrupt voice asked, too loudly to ignore.

Startled, Katherine bolted to an upright position, exclaiming, "Uh! What?" Once she recognized where she was and who was talking, she took a deep breath. "Um…actually..." she stammered as she fidgeted with her hair innocently.

"Actually what?" Tasuki enunciated with much diction, looking at her almost angrily.

Never directly facing the sei in the eyes, Katherine muttered, "Actually…" She paused for a second, debating whether she should tell him. "I still don't remember what happened," she finished, running her words together, afraid of his reaction.

After what had happened over the past two days, he assumed everything was back to normal. "You're not gonna try again, are ya?" he asked, hoping Katherine smart enough to know that risking her life was not worth one memory.

"No! Of course not!" she exclaimed to Tasuki's relief.

"Good," he sighed, looking back up at the clear blue sky.

"But…" Katherine muttered, running her index finger over the grass.

Tasuki despised the moment the word reached his ear. Katherine was one who didn't know when to give up, but even she must have realized that she couldn't possibly win. "But what?" he asked, trying his hardest to suppress his impatience.

"But...it's just hard!" the girl whined as she pounded her fist into the ground.

The bandit demanded, "What's so hard about it? Ya lost a memory! It happens to me lots of times. Usually after I drink too much." No matter how hard he tried Katherine would always be a mystery to the poor bandit. She spent so much time worrying about things that weren't even problems to begin with. Why couldn't she realize she can't change everything? The future was meant to be unknown, which was why the bandit enjoyed living in the present.

"Well, not only did I lose a memory, I gained a couple that weren't so pleasant," Katherine explained, biting her bottom lip.

"Christina and Hotohori?"

"Yah," she sighed as she let her head fall back onto the ground sleepily.

Tasuki grabbed the bottle of sake, loudly gulping the drink as he rolled his eyes. "Well, ya know it didn't happen, so what's th' big deal?" he asked, wiping his mouth with his sleeve.

"You don't understand..." Katherine muttered as she nervously played with her hands. Her eyes never leaving the ground, she continued, "It's like whenever I look at him I think about it, I see it. It's engraved in my mind. And even though I know it's not true, it still hurts!"

"So, what're ya gonna do about it?"

"I-I don't know yet," the girl stammered, placing a strand of her hair behind her ear. "I'll figure something out. Just don't tell anyone, okay?" she pleaded, uneasily looking at the bandit.

"Okay, sure," Tasuki shrugged. "Just promise me tha' you're not gonna try t' remember 'gain."

"I promise," Katherine swore, standing up and brushing off the back of her shorts. She thoughtfully added before walking back towards the palace, "Ya know, whatever girl you do end up with, she'll be lucky to have you."

Tasuki immediately bolted into an upright position and shouted, "What are ya talkin' about? I don't like girls!"

Katherine turned around, with an all-knowing smile. "Then, I hope you and Nuriko are very happy together," she snickered, walking backwards, a huge grin on her face.

"Hey! I may not like girls, but I hate guys even more!" he shouted after the priestess.

"Yeah...sure..." the girl replied and winked before turning back around and ran away from the offended sei before he could think of a snappy comeback.

Smirking and glaring at the same time, Tasuki watched her until she entered the palace. "Wimmen," he muttered, before lying back down on the rock and drifting off to sleep.

oOo

The sun was beginning to disappear, behind the far off mountains in the distance. Through the refreshing chill of the evening breeze, two figures walked through the gardens of the Konan palace. "So are you and Katherine...okay?" Nuriko inquired quietly.

"I guess..." Christina shrugged. "I mean, she's okay now, you know?" She stared at the ground, trying to imagine what it would have been like if she had been the one drugged with Kodoku. Would she have tried to kill Katherine? It seemed laughable that she would hurt her best friend; she still would have given her friend the benefit of the doubt. But Katherine hadn't trusted her, betrayed their friendship.

"She had been given Kodoku," Christina thought to herself. "It wasn't her fault." She sighed, wondering what to do. She wanted to talk to Katherine, but could not bring herself to do it. Somewhere, in the back of her mind, Christina knew she couldn't totally trust Katherine. She would be nervous and wary of another attack. And shouldn't she? How could she ever forget that her so-called best friend had tried to choke her to death?

"Well..." Nuriko sighed, trying to find a way to change the subject; he knew Christina wasn't ready to forgive Katherine yet. "What are we going to do about Chiriko?"

"The ceremony's tomorrow," Christina said flatly. "So, we have to find him by then..." She rubbed her temples, trying to think of a way to find the last celestial warrior. "Oh!" she exclaimed, "Chichiri could search for his ki! Then, we could use his kasa to get him!"

"We should go now then..." Nuriko pointed out. "Chichiri's most likely in his room meditating."

"C'mon!" Christina said as she grabbed Nuriko's sleeve and turned around, leading the sei back towards the palace. They passed handfuls of servants, who smiled as they marveled at how much energy they had, in the middle of a scorching heat wave. When they reached the monk's room, they slowly peeked around the monk's doorframe to see him meditating inside, just as Nuriko had guessed.

"Did you want something, no da?" asked Chichiri as he stood up from a small mat in front of his bed.

"We need to find Chiriko," Christina said quickly as she shut the door, lest a passerby hear them. The ceremony was a day away, and the last thing they needed was to have the whole palace gossiping how Chiriko was never found.

Chichiri answered, "Did you check his room, no da?"

"No," said Nuriko, "Amiboshi already left. We still need to find Chiriko!"

"What, no da?" Chichiri asked, utterly confused.

Christina quickly explained, "That was Amiboshi, one of the Seiryuu. We found him out," she explained, "and he left. We have to find Chiriko by the ceremony tomorrow."

"Da..." Chichiri groaned, placing a hand on his head, as if the new information caused him physical pain.

"Well, what are you waiting for!" Nuriko yelled, his hand upon his hip as he waited, "Let's hurry up!"

"Right, no da!" Chichiri said as he grabbed his hat and cape. He threw the cape upon the floor and stepped on top, motioning for Christina and Nuriko to follow his lead. As they stepped atop the cape, they began to sink into the folds of the cloth as if it was quicksand.

"Chiriko, here we come!" shouted Christina as his head disappeared beneath the cloth. The cape slowly faded, as if it was sinking into the floor, pulled through a tiny knothole, until it disappeared with a tiny pop.

oOo

Tasuki had finally awoken from his nap by the pond, feeling quite refreshed. He breathed deeply and sighed, wondering how he had gone from being a bandit to the kind of person that people bowed to every single time they walked past him. Actually, being bowed to was getting very annoying quickly. He was forced to bow back, or the person wouldn't leave him alone.

As he walked aimlessly, Tasuki wondered exactly where he was heading; his feet seemed to know, but the rest of him did not. He soon realized the perfect place to go after such a nice nap: to his room and take another nap. Back at Mt. Reikaku there never seemed time to lull around and do nothing, but at the palace, it seemed to be the only thing there was to do. He wondered how Hotohori and Nuriko could have lived at the palace before the entertainment of Katherine and Christina running around and wreaking havoc.

As Tasuki yawned again, he heard a quiet popping, and then screaming filled the air, which slowly grew louder and louder until something heavy fell atop the bandit. "Ahh! Shit!" Tasuki shouted as he was pinned to the ground with his face pressed into the gravel. "What th' hell are ya doin'!" he yelled into the soil as he squirmed from under the weight of whatever was on top of him.

"Sorry, no da," Chichiri said worriedly as he floated down next to Tasuki, the only person who had been exempt from the law of gravity, "I was trying to land on the grass."

"Well you got the gravel pathway," Nuriko said as he stood up from where he had fallen, holding his aching backside in pain. "My poor back!"

"What about my back!" Tasuki asked angrily. He turned back his head to look at the remaining people on his back and inquired loudly, "What th' hell are ya all doin'!"

"Sorry!" two voices shouted at once. One of the voice belonged to Christina, but the other voice, a high, childlike voice was one that Tasuki did not recognize.

"What th' hell izzat!" the bandit asked angrily as he rolled over and tossed the remaining people off of his back. "Oh, my back, ya broke it!"

Christina started laughing loudly, grabbing her stomach with one hand as she doubled over and pointed at Tasuki with the other. Standing up, the bandit walked forward and asked seriously, "What's so funny?"

Nuriko paused his snickering to reply, "You've got something on your face, Tasuki…"

Tasuki slapped his hand to his cheek and rubbed it to find a thick layer of dirt was over his skin. "Oh, ya think that's funny?" he asked as he rubbed it off onto his palms. "This is even funnier!" he shouted as he attacked Christina and wiped the dirt onto her cheeks.

Screaming, Christina struggled to get away, but she was no match for Tasuki. The sei held her arms together with one hand and covered her face in dirt with the other. "No! No, not funny!" shouted the girl as Tasuki, Nuriko, and Chichiri laughed loudly. When she was finally released, Christina was no longer laughing.

After a moment, she looked up at Tasuki, who was still covered in dirt despite all of the soil he had rubbed onto her face, and imagined what she must have looked like. The two burst out into a fit of laughter, and did not stop until Tasuki looked down and asked "Who's that?"

Christina followed Tasuki's gaze to see a little boy wearing light blue and green robes, with bright, inquisitive eyes and brown hair that was pulled into a tuft above his head. "Meet Chiriko," said Christina.

oOo

"Role call!" shouted Christina, her hands behind her back in a position of mock authority. She glanced at the face of each seishi as she walked down the line. Katherine stood at Christina's side, like a second-in-command. "Tamahome?"

"Here," replied the sei, who was standing next to Miaka, in a rather unexcited manner.

"Nuriko?"

"I'm right in front of you!" answered the beautiful sei in an annoyed tone as he tapped one foot, his hand on his hip in a gesture of impatience.

"Tasuki?" asked Christina. She looked over at the bandit, who was sighing and rolling his eyes like a boy stuck at a school assembly. Christina sighed, irritated that he was not making it any easier for her to count. She walked forward and called, "Chichiri?"

"Da!"

"Mitsukake?" Christina paused, waiting for an answer. The room fell silent, She looked up to see that the doctor was standing right in front of her, towering above her slender form. Sighing at the doctor's quiet nature, she moved on, calling, "Hotohori?"

"I'm here," answered Hotohori. Christina smiled at the first real answer, and then moved back to the front so that everyone could see her. "All right then," Christina continued, "we have some very important business to discuss."

"Right," Katherine added. "First of all, the ceremony is tomorrow, and we'd like to say it's been a blast, and we'd like to thank you for putting up with us."

"The fruit baskets are in the mail," Christina added lightheartedly.

"Shut up," replied Katherine with a roll of her eyes and a slight smile.

Ignoring Katherine, Christina continued, "Secondly, we'd like to introduce you to…" she paused and pointedly looked at Katherine, adding, "Drum roll, please." Katherine rushed to the nearest table and began pounding upon the wood with her hands. "...Chiriko!" Christina exclaimed. She looked over to the corner of the room where a small boy stood.

The boy walked forward, his chestnut hair, held up in a high ponytail that bobbed with each step. "Hello," the boy greeted in a high voice as he bowed to the seishi, "My real name Ou Doukun, but I'm also known as the celestial warrior Chiriko."

"What!" Tamahome shouted confusedly. "Where did the real Chiriko go?"

"This is the real Chiriko," Katherine answered. She nudged the boy, who lifted up the bottom of his right pant leg to show a glimmering red symbol.

"What happened to the other boy?" Mitsukake asked worriedly.

"That was Amiboshi," answered Nuriko. "One of the Seiryuu seishi."

"Where exactly is this…Amiboshi now?" inquired Hotohori, worried that the Seiryuu warrior was still in his country.

"He went back to Kutou," said Katherine.

"I apologize for not coming to the capital until now," said Chiriko bowing heavily.

"Well, yer here now I s'ppose…" said Tasuki shrugged. "Don't be so hard on yerself, kid."

"Thank you," replied Chiriko with a smile. He looked over at the nine warriors who stood before him. None of them seemed to be too intimidating, with the exception of the tall one in the center who'd barely spoken since he had arrived. Slightly smiling, he thought maybe for the first time in his life he had found where he belonged.

oOo

Thudding footsteps filled the air as Joan paced about the bedroom, clutching her head. "Holy crap...holy crap...holy crap..." she muttered for no one to hear. Suddenly she stopped, screaming "Holy crap!" as if the shock of it all finally reached her system. "It's my blasted little sister! What the hell does she think she's doing!" she yelled at ceiling.

Lying on her bed, exhausted, Diana watched her friend fret over such a simple concept. "This is a new version of Fushigi Yuugi, somebody was bound to fall in love at sometime," she rationalized, rolling her bright blue eyes at Joan's drama.

Joan rushed over to Diana's bed and grabbed the tall girl's collar, almost causing her to fall of the bed. "This isn't a blasted TV series!" the protective older sibling shouted, threatening with her fist to release her pent up anger on Diana's face. "This is real life and that is my little sister!" Releasing Diana, she rushed over to the dresser and grabbed the neatly laid-out dollar bill. "Katherine, are you in there!" she screamed at the innocent piece of green paper. "Get out here now so I can hurt you!"

Completely unfazed by Joan's threats, Diana sat up on the bed and stretched her arms. "I don't get it...your sister is in love. Isn't this supposed to be a happy occasion?"

Tired of Diana's constant opposition, the sister defended, "She's only fifteen! She doesn't know what love is! I'm nineteen and I don't know what love is!"

"That's because you're fucked up," Diana teased under her breath, only to be responded with a cold glare. Holding her hands up as a gesture of peace, the girl smiled innocently. "Just kidding. Grow a sense of humor, would ya?"

"Ha Ha. Very funny," Joan mocked with much diction in her voice. Throwing the dollar bill back on the dresser, she made her way towards the book, knocking over anything in her way. Holding the book upside down, she yelled, "Get out here now!" Hoping Katherine would fall from the words of the story, she shook the book violently above the ground.

A loud crack sounded through the air. Recognizing the noise instantly, Diana jumped to her feet and screamed, "The binding!"

Yet, unknown to the two psychotic girls fighting over the fragile novel, Katherine's love for the emperor was the least of the group's problems. As they scrambled around, trying to mend the book, lines of misfortune continued to appear on the tattered pages. "Unbeknownst to the inhabitants inside the palace walls, one boy posed a deadly threat to the Priestesses and their seishi. Declaring he was the Suzaku sei, Chiriko, the palace guards opened the gates..."

**To Be Continued...**

**A/N: **This episode is dedicated to The Muses Tk and Zv. She's an awesome writer and she helped us greatly with concluding the Kodoku conflict. Thanks much! She has several works posted, but one of my favorites is "In Dreams". It's a must-read.

**Fushigi Akugi**  
A/N: This Fushigi Akugi is a JOKE, just like the other Fushigi Akugis. We were just talking about how we're afraid of everyone and looking over some edits of ours...and a picture appeared in our heads...and this is it.

In the deepest depths of the Konan palace, down under the damp, cold stone that echoed with the sorrow of its prisoners, the jails and torture chambers of the palace were empty, with the exception of two, frightened little authors. Their cell was dirty and bleak, with only an old, dilapidated typewriter on the stone floor and a tiny, barred window through which pale, dust infested light shone through.

"I said more active! Active!" the angry voice of the Thirteenth R. Nightingale screamed through the cold, damp air. The loud, cracking sound of a whip upon the ground reverberated through the chambers. "What did I tell you! No more passive voice!"

Two tiny figures were curled up on the ground, clad in naught but dirty, dusty gray rags. The trembling forms of Mrs. Tasuki and Nyan Nyan did not move, as they were too weak. Another crack of the whip upon the backs of the authors, and the editor yelled, "Another lash for pronoun abuse!"

"So...so tired..." gasped Nyan Nyan from her place on the icy cold floor. She clutched at the granite of the ground, struggling to lift herself up.

"You're tired!" asked the beta. "I expect better than this from you!" With a snap of the editor's fingers, the guards appeared and hauled the authors to their cell.

"Next chapter due tomorrow," the guard on the left grunted, tossing Mrs. Tasuki onto the floor. The barred door slammed shut, and Nyan Nyan slowly stood up, rubbing her head in pain.

"Can't...work...any longer..." Mrs. Tasuki moaned quietly. Seven pink bubbles appeared in the already-crowded cell, and seven identical Nyan Nyans, also clad in rags, fell to the ground.  
"We could each write one page..." suggested the third Nyan Nyan.

"No," disagreed the seventh, "we would have to write two each...our episodes average fourteen pages."

"If you had read review 113, you would notice that the fans get mad when the chapters are even a page shorter!" wailed another Nyan Nyan. "It has to be at least fifteen pages with no less than seven tenths of an inch for a margin!"

"Hey!" interrupted a hateful voice from above. All eight Nyan Nyans and Mrs. Tasuki looked up to their tiny window to see a crowd of faces pressed against the bars. "That's what you get for raping the Word Thesaurus!"

"Yeah!" agreed yet another fan. "You better get the next episode out quicker, or it's the thumbscrews for you!"

"You have one week or you get the iron maiden!" shouted another. The hurling of insults went on for a while, but, eventually, the throng of readers died down, and the sun disappeared, leaving the imprisoned writers alone in the dark.

"I'm so hungry!" complained the original Nyan Nyan, cracking her aching fingers.

Mrs. Tasuki sidled up beside her co-author, a sly look upon her face. "Nyan Nyan number seven is looking...chubby...today..." Nyan Nyan turned to Mrs. Tasuki, an evil glint in her eyes. She motioned for the other six Nyan Nyans to come towards her, so they could think of a plan.

"Nyan Nyans..." Mrs. Tasuki whooped, "Attack!" The seven Nyan Nyans and Mrs. Tasuki rushed to the corner of the cell where the lone Nyan Nyan number seven was huddled.

"Ahh!" screamed the soon-to-be-dinner Nyan Nyan as she ran away from her foes.

The angry editor scolded, "Scream in active tense! Active!"

oOo

Nyan Nyan number seven's remains were found the next day. She was picked clean, but was spared from the terrible fates that awaited the other writers.

Nyan Nyan two was subjected to thumbscrews for lack of detail. Nyan Nyan number two switched the words 'they're' and 'their'. She was sent to the guillotine. Her head is on display in the dungeons of Konan, while Nyan Nyans four and five were later boiled in oil for unnecessary comma use and were sacrificed to feed the perpetual hunger of Yuuki Miaka. Nyan Nyan number eight was forced to watch Pink Floyd's 'The Wall' while completely sober until she eventually went insane and ripped out her eyes.

Nyans Nyans three and six were sent to the rack for raping the Word Thesaurus. They had been stretched to four feet nine inches before dying of complications.

Both Mrs. Tasuki and Nyan Nyan number one were sent to the iron maiden for use of passive voice.


	28. Episode 27: The Summoning

**Episode 27:**

**The Summoning**

**By: Nyan Nyan and Mrs. Tasuki**

A glowing sun slowly rose over the land of Konan, highlighting the silvery clouds with the warmth of its rays. The palace glimmered brilliantly. The golds and reds of its buildings were as bright as the sun itself, as the entirety of the palace had been scoured in preparation for the long-awaited ceremony.

Two figures watched the sun's progress over the palace from a tiny pavilion atop one of the many crystalline lakes in the courtyard. "Isn't it beautiful?" mused Miaka, her elbows set on the pavilion's railing as she rested her chin atop her hands, gazing at the rippling reflection of the sun in the shimmering water.

"Yeah..." Tamahome agreed quietly, his eyes on Miaka as he gently wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

"I just want to stay like this forever," sighed Miaka.

Tamahome gently pulled Miaka in front of him, his hands atop her shoulders, and said "Maybe you can..." Miaka looked at him baffled, and Tamahome continued, "The ceremony is today...maybe, once Suzaku is summoned..." He slowly trailed off as he hung his head, blushing nervously.

"Tamahome?" asked Miaka, not understanding what he was trying to say.

"Miaka...would you...would you stay here? Would you stay with me forever?"

Stunned, the girl was silent for a second. There's no way she could have heard him correctly, she was only fifteen. "Tamahome...w-what do you mean?" she stuttered in disbelief.

Tamahome let go of Miaka's shoulders and turned so that he was facing away from her, blood rushing to his face from embarrassment. "Will you marry me?"

Miaka stepped back, her eyes wide with surprise. She opened her mouth to reply, but was silenced as the ground began to tremble. She fell back against the pavilion's railings and held tight to one of the beams as the ground continued to shake.

"What's happening?" Tamahome asked, aghast by the sudden rumbling within the earth.

"It's an earthquake!" Miaka shouted. Being from Tokyo, she was quite used to small tremors.

After a moment, the earth stopped moving, and Miaka let go of the beam. "Are you okay?" Tamahome asked the girl. Miaka nodded her head breathlessly. Tamahome gave the girl one last look before he started to back away. "I need to get going...the ceremony's starting soon." Before he was too far for Miaka to hear him, Tamahome turned around and added, "Just think about it, okay?"

oOo

"I got the duct tape!" Joan hollered as she burst through the bedroom door with a large roll of gray tape in her hands.

Hovering over the injured book, Diana scooped up the fragile pages in her arms, shielding it as if it were a newborn baby. Turning sharply, she screamed, "No, you idiot!"

Sighing loudly, Joan closed the door behind her, making sure their dilemma would remain hidden from her friend's aunt. "We have to fix it somehow," she reasoned, rolling her blue-gray eyes as Diana carefully placed the book on her nightstand. She unrolled a large strip of tape and tore it off, looking at the broken book."Look, we are not going to defile this book anymore than we already have," Diana snapped back, carefully opening the book to a page in its center, as if it may fall apart at any moment.

Sticking out her bottom lip, Joan pouted, "But duct tape is fun," reminding Diana of a small child who was just told playtime was over.

Diana rose to her feet and turned towards her small friend. In a mothering voice, she explained, "Yes, it is fun for things that aren't important, like mending a CD cover, but we should not use duct tape on the one portal between your sister and this world." Every rip and tear on its pages could have easily rained disaster upon the lands within the binding.Sadly sighing, Joan whispered, "Okay...," knowing deep down her friend had a valid point. Returning her attention to the ancient novel, Diana looked down at the letters on the washed-out, frail-looking page. "Unbeknownst to the inhabitants inside the palace walls, one boy still posed as a threat to the Priestesses and their seishi. Declaring he was the Suzaku sei, Chiriko, the palace guards opened the gates to the enemy..." She paused for a moment, the lines of turmoil sinking into her system. Whispering, "Shit," she slowly turned towards Joan, debating if telling her abusive friend would cost her life.

oOo

Hotohori carefully held the ancient scroll in his hands as he quickly walked down the palace hallways, holding the fragile, yet powerful, roll of parchment. With the ceremony only hours away, it was clear that time was of the essence. Even the most miniscule of details needed to be just right, for Konan had waited eons for the summoning day to arrive. As the emperor walked, he carefully studied the ancient kanji, paying no attention to his surroundings. Assuming anyone who saw him would step to the side and bow until he passed them by, an action that the emperor had known since his earliest years.

"Hotohori!" a voice called from behind him, followed by the pounding of footsteps on the wooden floors. Stopping, Hotohori looked over his shoulder to see Christina running towards him. He nodded his head as he greeted the priestess, wondering why she had searched him out.As she stepped in front of the emperor, Christina panted, "I need to talk to you."

Although he and Christina were on good terms with each other, they did not share a close friendship that the priestess had with the other warriors. Seeing no reason for the girl to extend the hand of close friendship so late, he assumed that it was a technicality concerning the ceremony. "Yes?" inquired the emperor as he rolled up the scroll, giving her his full attention.

Christina glanced over her shoulder at two guards who were clearly eavesdropping, moving closer to whisper into his ear, "Can we talk...in private? It's kinda important." She kept her gaze focused on the prying guards, as if watching for any change in expression.

Hotohori looked down at the girl's expression, becoming nervous at her somber aura. He quietly opened the closest door and led Christina inside. After Christina tightly shut the door behind them, Hotohori asked, "What is wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong...exactly..." she sighed, rubbing her eyes with exhaustion. She looked down at the ground, "It's about you and Katherine."

The emperor sat down in one of the chairs by the door, straining to keep a mask of composure on his face. "What about us?" he asked worriedly. It seemed as though everything between Katherine and himself had been going perfectly. Katherine had finally answered his declaration of love with one of her own, and, after Suzaku was summoned, Hotohori would make her his empress.

Standing as still as stone, Christina looked to Hotohori and replied softly and calmly, "Katherine told me that you are both in love." She paused for a moment, pursing her lips as she summoned the exact words that she wanted to say. "And, knowing you, you probably have plans to marry her, but..." She paused again as if hoping that the emperor could read her thoughts, instead of forcing her to speak them aloud.

"But..." repeated Hotohori, leaning forward as he wondered what could be wrong.

"Katherine is fifteen. I know that's old here in Chinatown, and everyone gets married at our age, but where Katherine and I are from, it's way too young...ridiculously young."

"How old do people from your world wait to marry?" he asked. Already nineteen and a bachelor made Hotohori older than any other unwed emperor in Konan's history, a fact that his advisors loved to remind him of time and time again.

Christina murmured, "Usually around twenty-five."

"Twenty-five!" he exclaimed, not even attempting to hide his shock.

"Yeah...most people wait until after college, when they have a job...and a house." Seeing the shocked expression on his face, Christina added, "People in our world live a lot longer than they do here...seventy, eighty, some ninety, or hundred even." She looked sadly at the emperor's face and said, "You really don't know anything about her, do you?"

"Of course I do, just not about her past," he reasoned.

"A person's past determines who they are," Christina said, shaking her head. "What's her favorite color?" she demanded.

Faltering for a moment, the emperor answered, "...Red."

"Chichiri blue," Christina corrected, remembering the precise moment that Katherine fallen in love with the color of the monk's hair."Obviously, we have more important things to talk about," he stated, wondering how Christina could expect him to know the answer to such a ridiculous question when they had been risking their lives to save his country.

Christina thought for a moment, searching her mind for a truly simple question, something that even an acquaintance of Katherine's should have known. "What's her sister's name?"

"Katherine has a sister?" Hotohori asked, wondering why he never heard about the sibling before now. Thinking only of the best for her friend, Christina asked angrily, "How are you supposed to marry someone you know nothing about?"

The emperor rose from his chair angrily and declared, "I may know nothing about her, but I know her! I know she will always be the independent, stubborn person she is today. But I love her for who she is, and for the first time..." He paused for moment, regaining his composure. "...someone loves me for who I am."

Christina sighed and covered her face with her hands, trying to wipe away any emotions that were not needed for their conversation. She lifted her head back up, emotionless as stone. "I just wanted you to know one thing; Katherine had a life outside of this world, a life you obviously care nothing about," she added cleverly. "If she marries you, she will be giving up everything. Her friends, her family, her home, everything she knows. I know you love her, and she loves you, but you need to realize how much you're asking of her."

oOo

Slow, heavy steps echoed outside the Shrine of Suzaku as Miaka paced back and forth, trying to figure out why she was overcome by such a strong feeling of dread. The doors had been barred shut only minutes before, and yet, the minutes had warped into hours as Miaka waiting anxiously outside.

Something was wrong. Miaka had an awful hunch that something terrible was about to happen. The notion had started with the sudden disappearance of Chiriko, and had escalated when he suddenly returned a day later, quiet, as though nothing had happened.

At first, she thought that the cause of her anxiety was because she was the Priestess of Seiryuu and it was instinct. But, now that the ceremony had started she knew that it was much more. Somehow, she knew that the ceremony would be disastrous, but she did not have the heart to bring up the premonition. "If I tell Tamahome...he'll think I'm just trying to stop them from summoning Suzaku...because...because I'm the enemy." She sadly looked up to the sky, wondering why she had ever agreed to carry the burden of being the Priestess of Seiryuu.

oOo

"I summon you!" the priestesses shouted at the top of their lungs.

As soon as the words were spoken, the book exploded in Diana's hands. The Universe of the Four Gods had been destroyed, killing the magical world inside.

**The End.**

oOo

**Author's Note:**

Review

and

Goodbye!

It's been fun...really.

oOo

**JUST KIDDING! **

**Haha. We fooled you. We hope you didn't have a heart attack, but, if you look in our disclaimer, you'll find you can't sue us, even if you did.**

**Love you all,**

**Nyan Nyan and Mrs. Tasuki**

**Moving on... **

oOo

The golden statue of Suzaku sparkled in the flickering flames of the many oil lamps and the gilded altar, the firelight casting strange, eerie darkness towards the sides and back of the room. The shichiseishi of Suzaku stepped forward and lined up along the long, red carpet that led to the altar, standing on their respective constellations, carved into the stone floor.

Hotohori was dressed in ceremonial robes and hat. Even though he appeared to be confident, he felt as though his insides were tied into knots. Tamahome and Tasuki, both clad in their usual attire, waited anxiously, their arms crossed nonchalantly. Chichiri, Mitsukake, and little Chiriko were all silent and serious, while Nuriko carried a look of great concern on his face.

The heavy metal doors were pulled shut as Katherine and Christina appeared, clothed in identical red robes with long, flowing sleeves and trains made of white gauze. Golden bracelets sparkled at their wrists and matching necklaces adorned their necks. Neither one of the girls looked frightened, but both had looks of sorrow and anxiety on their faces. As Katherine and Christina reached the very end of the long, red carpet, where the gilded altar was set, Tamahome, Hotohori, Nuriko, Chichiri, Tasuki, Mitsukake, and Chiriko simultaneously clasped their hands together and lowered their heads in prayer.

Out of the corner of his eye, Nuriko looked at the two girls he had gotten to know so well, every quirk about them perfect. He watched as Katherine shakily clapped her hands together. Christina bit her lip with anxiety, but tried to look confident to make up for her friend. Nuriko knew that the two priestesses were worried about the success of the summoning, but they had also voiced one other concern to him; they were afraid that the ceremony would mean goodbye.

Nuriko knew that Katherine and Christina were not the only people he would be saying farewell to. Thoughts swarmed his mind as he thought about how everyone would eventually go their separate ways. Once Suzaku was summoned, would everyone return to whence they came, without another word? Could all of the seishi simply forget everything that they had all shared together, and return to their lives? Nuriko pondered these forlorn thoughts, and looked up as Christina and Katherine began to recite the ancient incantation, which Chichiri had helped them memorize only hours eariler.

"We summon all the great forces of justice, faith, and good will from the four corners of heaven and the four corners of the earth to call on you the divine Suzaku…" they shouted, finding confidence in each others' voices. "We ask that you descend from the seven constellations to the earth to protect us, and destroy all evil with your divine powers for the sake of the people who worship you."

Nuriko looked away from the fire, wondering if this was the end of their long friendship, when he spotted something in the shadows. Nuriko could barely make out the figure, but, illuminated by the flickering firelight, a pair of glowing eyes stared back at him. Katherine and Christina tossed the ancient scroll of parchment into the fire just as Nuriko opened his mouth to warn them of the intruder.

Time seemed to slow to a stop, and Nuriko watched in horror as something from the shadows flew towards them, inch by painful inch. He could see the parchment's edges turn black as it was licked by the flames, slowly crumbling to ashes. The loud pounding of Nuriko's heartbeat filled his ears, drowning out every other sound around him, and he turned his head to see the weapon was heading straight for Mitsukake's turned back.

Mitsukake felt an extraordinarily strong force pushing him to the side, as though a wall had suddenly descended upon him. He hit the cold stone ground, his breath forced out of him by surprise, the echo of the impact thundering in his ears.

"Nuriko!" screamed a frightened, feminine voice. Mitsukake looked up, squinting his eyes in pain to see Nuriko falling towards the ground, his hands clutching at his left side in pain. A large, gaping wound over the sei's ribs was bleeding all over the shining, stone floors.

It was strange. Through the pain, Nuriko had a bizarre sense of serenity. Knowing he had completed his obligation to Suzaku, he felt whole again, a feeling he hadn't felt since his sister had died. Korin...she seemed so close to him. Ryuuen could almost hear her innocent laughter as she ran through the gardens. The pain in his left side slowly receding, tears streaked Ryuuen's face. In an instant he knew that this was his destiny.

Rushing over to the boy's side, Mitsukake gently rolled Nuriko to his back. "Korin..." Nuriko breathed, as hot tears leaked through his closed lids. The doctor's eyes widened when Nuriko became deathly still. He immediately raised his left hand, praying that it was not too late.

A figure stepped out of the shadows, exposing himself in the golden light of the altar. "Chiriko!" Tamahome gasped.

"So these are the legendary Suzaku warriors..." the boy chuckled darkly, "...pitiful." He slowly approached the circle, mere inches away from the seishi and priestesses. Sneering, he continued, "You don't deserve three wishes. My brother and I went through far too much to have our dreams crushed by a pathetic group like you!"

Christina and Katherine gasped as they noticed the weapons in his hands. "Suboshi!" Katherine shouted.

Smirking, Suboshi lifted his arms into the air, throwing his deadly meteor bells towards them as he shouted "Ryu Sei Sui!"

oOo

Miaka jumped up from where she had been sitting against the wall as she heard screams from within the ceremony room. She rushed at the doors and tried to lift up the bar, but was blown back by a strong force. As she looked up from the ground, she noticed that a strange, red flickering barier was surrounding the doors, keeping her from entering.

Realizing that as the Priestess of Seiryuu she would not be able to enter, Miaka rushed off in search of someone who could help.

oOo

The meteor bells flew through the air, straight towards Tasuki. The bandit quickly dodged the weapons with godlike speed and pulled out his tessen from the sheath on his back with a loud, metallic echo. "Rekka Shinen!" Tasuki yelled, sending a wave of flames towards Suboshi.

Shocked, everyone stared at the bandit, silent until Tamahome quietly mused, "I thought we couldn't use our seishi powers..."

"Th' tessen ain't my power, ya dumbass!" replied Tasuki hotheadedly.

Suboshi, who had barely dodged Tasuki's flames, grabbed his meteor bells from the air and swung them around, challenging the seishi. "Ryu Sei Sui!" he shouted as he hurled both weapons towards them again.

Chichiri quickly grabbed Chiriko and pushed him backwards before stepping in front of the boy, protecting him from Suboshi. Christina rushed over to the altar as Tasuki sent another wall of fire towards Suboshi. She hurriedly shouted into the altar, trying to finish the ceremony.

"We summon you thus! Descend upon us from the heavens!" Katherine ran beside Christina, and watched the urn nervously.

Nothing happened.

"The scroll's already burned!" Katherine cried.

Suboshi, seeing his main targets standing away from the warriors, in the perfect position for him to strike, quickly sent his meteor bells towards Katherine and Christina. A loud noise banged on the door as the guards tried to break in. As the sound echoed through the room, the priestesses turned in fright, just in time to see Suboshi's meteor bells flying towards them. Frozen with fear, neither one of the girls could move out of the weapons' path.

Hotohori, seeing the two priestesses in danger, bolted from the side of the alter and shoved the two out of the way. As they all fell, the meteor bells grazed a long gash on the emperor's shoulder, ripping cloth and flesh with similar ease. Tasuki leapt forward as Suboshi grabbed his weapons back from the air and yelled, "Rekka Shinen!"

Suboshi quickly jumped away, but not swift enough, as the fire enveloped his right arm. He shook his arm around as he yelped in pain, trying to douse the flames as the thumping upon the door grew louder. Suddenly, the noise stopped altogether; Suboshi looked around for a way to escape, holding his burnt arm in pain.

A large bang hit the door, breaking both of the bolts and causing the metal doors to fly open to reveal no less than twenty soldiers holding a huge battering ram. The soldiers dropped the ram and began to rush inside, giving Suboshi a perfect exit.

Suboshi leapt across the room and past the guards, out into the courtyard of the palace. "Master Chiriko!" exclaimed several guards with surprise.

Tasuki quickly chased after Suboshi, with Tamahome right behind him. "Get him!" shouted Tamahome, "He's the enemy!"

Tasuki was quickly barred from chasing Suboshi as a large amount of guards grabbed his arms and legs, thinking that the questionable bandit was the traitor. "What th' hell are ya guys doin'!" shouted Tasuki angrily.

"Not him! Chiriko!" Christina yelled as Tamahome brushed past the guards, chasing Suboshi. Tasuki was immediately released by the guards and sped off, soon followed by the soldiers themselves.

Tasuki quickly followed Tamahome and Suboshi's path, leaving the guards far behind. He ran through the palace gates, slipping between the two doors with ease. He felt the celestial mark on his arm begin to burn and glow as it gave him more power.

Snickering to himself with pride as he passed the blue-haired sei, Tasuki brushed past crowds of people in the streets. He carved a pathway for himself and leaving frightened people screaming in surprise behind him. Far up ahead, Tasuki spotted Suboshi jumping on the back of a horse.

Grabbing the nearest horse, Tasuki leapt onto its back, scaring the horse to nearly buck him off. He yanked on the horse's reins and began to chase after Suboshi again. The crowds had begun to back away, watching the two as if it were a race, some cheering without even knowing what was going on.

Tasuki spurred on the horse mercilessly, trying to catch up to Suboshi, who was slowly gaining speed. He began to close in, and steered his horse alongside Suboshi's, ready to make his move. Tasuki lifted up his hands to wrestle the sei off of the horse, just as the ground began to shake; a chain reaction from the earlier quake. The horse that Tasuki had stolen bucked up quickly, throwing him from the animal and onto the ground. A searing pain filled his head and then all was black.

oOo

"Are you okay!" shouted a voice above Tasuki, hammering into his brain like a nail. Tasuki quickly bolted up to see where traitor had went, grimacing as he felt the blood leaving his head.

"Shit!" shouted the bandit. He looked up to see Tamahome, and asked, "Did ya see which way he went?"

"Nah," replied Tamahome, "he was long gone by the time I got here." He reached down and offered his hand to Tasuki, who knocked it aside, still angry that he had not caught the traitor.

"Dammit!" shouted Tasuki as he stood up. He turned and stomped the ground that he had been knocked out on, yelling again out of frustration, "Dammit!"

"You never told me your seishi power was speed," Tamahome commented as he nodded towards the mark, glowing through Tasuki's sleeve.

Tasuki rubbed the mark absentmindedly, and then looked up with a smirk, "Ya never gave me a reason t'."

oOo

Miaka turned around from where she was standing, just outside the small circle of the priestesses and seishi, as she heard footsteps echoing down the vacant halls. She looked back to see Tamahome and Tasuki returning, tired and beaten.

Rushing towards Tamahome, Miaka asked, "What happened?"

"Amiboshi came back..." Tamahome said quietly.

"Actually, that wasn't Amiboshi..." Christina interjected solemnly.

"He's twin brother, Suboshi, came back to take his place and ruin the ceremony," Katherine finished quietly.

Tasuki walked forward and looked at Nuriko worriedly, "Are ya okay?" he asked, gesturing towards where Nuriko had been injured.

"Yeah, Mitsukake healed me," Nuriko muttered, lifting up his arm to show that his left side was completely healed.

"What happened after we left?" asked Tamahome.

"Yeah," said Tasuki, "is th' ceremony ruined?"

"Pretty much..." Katherine sighed quietly.

"But we have another chance," Christina smiled, looking tired and hopeful at the same time.

Hotohori walked behind Tamahome and Tasuki and gestured them away from the group, knowing that everyone else was too tired to listen, and said, "Taiitsukun appeared and informed us that there is another way to summon Suzaku..." he paused, watching as Tamahome and Tasuki's faces lit up.

"Ya mean-" Tasuki began.

The emperor raised his hand, cutting Tasuki off so that he could finish. "But, she said that the hardships we will face will be 'beyond anything we've experienced'."

"So, what do we have to do?" Tamahome asked.

"Travel to the northern county, Hokkan, and retrieve the Shinzaho kept there," Hotohori answered.

Stretching, Tasuki said arrogantly, "Well, that doesn't sound too hard."

"I guess we'll find out," said Tamahome.

Chichiri walked over to the group and pointed towards the side of the door, saying, "You must have dropped your tessen when the guards grabbed you, no da."

Tasuki walked over and picked up the weapon, admiring it for a moment before saying, "This ain't my tessen."

"Stop playing around, Tasuki!" Tamahome said, tired and not in the mood for his antics.

"Nah, my tessen doesn't sparkle like this..."

"Taiitsukun must have changed it when she presented us with our gifts..." Hotohori mused thoughtfully.

"Gifts?" asked Tamahome, his eyes wide with greed, "What gifts?"

"Just little things to make the trip easier, no da," said Chichiri, holding out a strand of prayer beads he had been given. "Mitsukake was given holy water, Nuriko bracelets, Chiriko a scroll, and Hotohori a holy sword."

Tamahome leapt forward in front of Chichiri, holding out his hands as though the monk was Santa Claus. "What'd she give me?" he asked, excited like a little boy on Christmas morning.

Hesitantly, Chichiri and Hotohori glanced at each other. "We assumed that neither of you were granted anything in particular since you weren't with us," Hotohori said quietly.

"It's like diamond!" the bandit exclaimed, not realizing he was being watched.

"But Tasuki's tessen was improved..." Tamahome said sadly, watching Tasuki play with his new weapon.

Chichiri placed his hand on Tamahome's shoulder and said wisely, "Maybe she did give you something...you just don't know it yet, no da."

Tamahome stared at the monk for a moment, perplexed by his words. Chichiri nodded and walked back towards the group, leaving Tamahome behind.

"How'd Tamahome take it?" Christina asked, knowing that he would be disappointed in his lack of gift.

"He took it very well, no da," Chichiri smiled.

"Hey!" shouted Chiriko, "That's my scroll!"

Tamahome held Chiriko's scroll to his own face as he shouted, "I should have gotten something too!"

"You're being very immature!" the thirteen year-old scolded.

Tasuki leapt forward and shouted, "Ya stole somethin' from a little kid! That's new lows even for you, Tama! Let's see how my new tessen works!" Tasuki lifted up the sparkling weapon and shouted, "Rekka Shinen!"

A wall of flames extended towards Tamahome, who was frozen to the spot. In a moment, he was quickly engulfed, and left on the ground, so burnt that he was covered by a fine layer of gray ash.

Coughing, Tamahome dropped the unscathed scroll, which rolled back to Chiriko's feet.

"Whoa..." Tasuki said, staring as his tessen in disbelief. "I wasn't even tryin' or nothin'..." The room erupted in laughter as Tamahome pulled himself to his feet and coughed out a cloud of smoke.

Tamahome stood up and looked towards Miaka, who was laughing along with the rest of his friends. Smiling, Tamahome knew that no gift could be more important than the one right in front of him.

oOo

Walking aimlessly throughout the palace, Katherine plodded down the hallway, shamefully hanging her head as she watched her bare feet take her to nowhere in particular. The sun shone through the trees, bringing a new day and a new adventure. Her navy blue pajama bottoms rustled in the morning breeze as she thought over the previous day's events for the millionth time. Exhausted from the restless night of attempted sleep, the girl sighed as she tried to run her fingers through her tangled hair, only to be discouraged.

Now bored with walking, the priestess leaned her back against the wall and lifelessly slid down it, looking at the rising sun as she hit the floor. "I'm so stupid!" she exclaimed for no one to hear as she banged the back of her head against the wall. "Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid!" the girl continued, relentlessly hitting her head. She closed her eyes for a moment and let out a long sigh as she tried to run her fingers through her hair once again.

"Katherine?" a deep voice questioned.

Instantly recognizing the voice, Katherine said, "Hotohori?" as she opened her eyes. From where she was sitting, she looked up at the tall emperor, who was standing in front of the sun. Only able to see his silhouette, she placed her hand on her forehead, shielding her eyes from the bright light. "What are you doing here?"

Coming down on one knee, he explained, "I was in the conference room and heard a loud knocking."

For the first time, Katherine looked around at her surroundings, realizing that this was, in fact, the conference area. "Oh...sorry that was me," she apologized, "I was banging my head against the wall."

"Why on earth would you do that?" he asked as he sat down next to her.

"Because I'm an idiot," Katherine sighed as she leaned her head back against the wall.

Placing his hand on her shoulder, Hotohori opposed, "Never say that! You tried your best, and that's all I've ever asked from you."

Turning to him, the exhausted girl rolled her eyes and stated, "First of all, no, it wasn't. You asked me to summon Suzaku, which I didn't do." Seeing Hotohori about to interrupt she held up her hand, motioning she had more to say. "Second of all, I am, in fact, an idiot. And lastly, if you're in the conference room, then evidently you have a meeting, and I don't want to keep your advisors waiting. So, I'll be going," she finished, amazingly still retaining her logic through her fog of insomnia. She placed her hand on the floor, about to stand up, but quickly found Hotohori's hand on top of it. Looking back at the emperor, she could clearly see something was troubling him. Quickly sitting back down, she slid her hand out from underneath his. "What's wrong?" she asked, slightly grasping his hand.

Slowly moving his hand away, he turned to face her, his golden eyes sparkling nervously. "I need to tell you something."

Never seeing the usually calm emperor so anxious about something, a cold chill ran down Katherine's spine. "What is it?" she whispered, worriedly grabbing her right arm.

Quickly looking away from her distressed face, the sei answered, "I...I don't love you anymore..."

**To Be Continued...**

**A/N: **When it comes to the seishi's powers, we make nothing up. In Genrou Den, and Fushigi Yuugi, for that matter, it gives several references to Tasuki's true powers.

**A/N: PLEASE READ!** We are aware that our updates are very long apart, and for that we would like to make one final apology. We understand it is very difficult to keep interest in a story that only updates once every two or three months.

We have reached the end of the first season. (YES!) There is one more season coming with more surprises and twists than we can even count. We would like to ask you for your patience as we now plan for the next season. This planning process will take about six months. Please do not forget about us, since we do realize it is quite a length of time between updates. Hopefully, with help from this break, we will update more often once we return. Don't worry; we have two surprises in the middle of the break especially for you.

We are not leaving the story. We just need a couple months just to clear our heads and plan the next season so then it's twice as good as the first, which we PROMISE will be.

Thank you for your constant support,

Nyan Nyan and Mrs. Tasuki

PS: Please review...we struggled greatly with this chapter, and we want to make sure everything falls into place. (Sadly, we are, in fact, review whores...)


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